Corbett Jim is best known for his exploits in the fight against animal cannibals. He was very often involved in the Garhwal and Kumaon areas to protect people from tigers and cannibalistic leopards. For all his personal achievements, he received honor from the local inhabitants, and some even found a saint in him. Corbett Jim was very fond of photography and video. After he retired, he began to write books about hunting animal cannibals and the simple life of the people of India.
Youth
July 25, 1875 - the date when Jim Corbett was born. His biography begins with the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India. Full name is Edward James "Jim" Corbett. In his Irish family, he was the eighth child of thirteen. From childhood, Jim began to show interest in the environment. Soon he began to perfectly recognize the voices of birds and animals, and he could easily locate the beast in his tracks. Corbett studied at the Oak Openings school, and then at St. Joseph’s educational institution in Nainital, but without even studying until he was nineteen, he left him and began to work on the railroad.
Hunter
According to official figures, in the period from 1907 to 1938, Corbett Jim was able to detect and kill fourteen leopards and nineteen tigers that attacked people. In total, these animals killed more than 1200 people. It is documented that the first killed tiger, which is called the Champavat cannibal, caused the death of 436 people.
Corbett Jim destroyed only those animals that caused harm to humans. Subsequently, he admitted in his book that he killed an innocent animal only once, which he later very much regretted. After checking the corpses of cannibalistic animals, it was established that many of them were injured by humans and, in view of the fact that they could not fully hunt, began to attack people. For example, one of the tigers shot by Corbett was wounded several times and could not get normal food, and then, becoming a cannibal, he killed almost 400 people.
The factor of such a frequent occurrence of cannibals was the sport hunting for carnivores that was actively spread in the 1900s. She was very popular with the supreme ranks of British India.
Thanks to his courage, Corbett Jim won the honor of the inhabitants of the places where he hunted. Killing every beast and saving people, Corbett risked his own life.
World War I
To participate in the war, Jim Corbett formed in India his own detachment, consisting of 500 people. The detachment was sent to France, where Corbett demonstrated excellent leadership skills during his stay. For all the time, the detachment lost only one person, but the cause of death was not a military injury, but a seasickness. Subsequently, Corbett was awarded the rank of major for all his merits.
From the hunter to the defenders
In 1924, Corbett decides to leave his post and settles in the small village of Kaladhunga. At the end of the decade, he first acquired a video camera. Corbett Jim was difficult to take photos and videos, despite the knowledge of the tropical thickets. It was not easy to hunt down animals because of their secrecy.
Corbett was very excited about the life and habitat of the tigers. He devoted much time to lectures for schoolchildren on the importance of protecting forests and wildlife. Contributed to the founding of the wildlife protection association in the United Provinces.
The Second World War
At the start of World War II, Corbett was no longer fit to participate directly in hostilities. At that time he came to the age of 65, but he nevertheless made a proposal on his service to the state. He was selected as vice director of the soldiers support committee. In 1944, Corbett received the rank of lieutenant colonel and was chosen as a mentor for conducting military operations in the jungle. Soon he was sent to Burma to study the arena of the enemy’s military operations, but a year later he contracted malaria and had to go home.
Pension and the last years of life
In 1947, Corbett moved to Kenya with his sister and began to show himself more as a writer. Corbett Jim was less involved in photo and video, but also continued to protect trees from felling in the jungle. Jim Corbett died at the age of 79. The cause of death was a heart attack. Date of death - April 19, 1955.
Heritage
- Located in the village of Kaladhungi, Corbett's house has been preserved and converted into a museum.
- In 1957, one of the parks in India was renamed in honor of Corbett. In the 30s of the last century, Jim did a lot to establish this protected territory.
- In 1968, one of the rarest subspecies of the tiger was named after the naturalist - Indochinese.
- In 1994 and 2002, the founder of the foundation, Jim Corbett, restored the graves of a naturalist and his sister.
Literature and cinema
Corbett Jim is the author of the book "Kumaon Cannibals", which was very popular throughout the world, and especially in India, the USA and England. The first circulation was 250,000 copies. After some time, the work was translated into 27 languages.
The Jungle Science, which Corbett released fourth, is by and large his autobiography.
In addition to these works, Corbett also wrote books: “Leopard from Rudraprayag”, “My India”, “Temple Tiger”.
According to the adventures, books and articles of Corbett, a number of films were shot that have gained popularity in different countries:
- The documentary drama The Ogres of India, which was released by the BBC in 1986.
- “India: The Kingdom of the Tiger” - the film was shot in IMAX format, based on the books of Jim Corbett.
- “Leopard from Rudraprayag” - the film was created on the basis of the book and was released in 2005.
Edward James “Jim” Corbett is one of the best naturalists, conservationists and writers of the last century. Corbett, risking his life, was able to help many ordinary residents in the fight against cannibals. On top of everything, he wrote books that still inspire people to love nature and animals.