Jim Corbett

Hunter of man-eating tigers, photographer, conservationalist and author Jim Corbett was born in 1875 in Nainital of English and Irish parentage. A childhood spent around the Corbett winter home of Kaladhungi brought young Jim into close communion with nature and to an instinctive understanding of Jungle ways. After working on the railways he joined the Indian army in 1917 at the age of 40 rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and seeing action in Flanders at the head of the 70th Kumaon Company. Known locally as Carpet Sahib, Jim Corbett was called upon time and time again to rid the hills of Kumaon of man-eating tigers and leopards.

One of the Corbett's most memorable exploits was the killing of the Champawat tiger which was responsible for a documented 436 human deaths and was bold enough to steal its victims from the amidst of human habitation ;he also terminated the careers of the Chowgarh tigress, the Talla Des and the Mohan man eaters. By 1930s though Corbett had become dismayed with the increasing number of hunters in the Himalayas and the resultant decline in wildlife and diverted his energies into conservation, swapping his gun for a movie camera and spending months capturing tigers on film. His adventures are described in books such as My India, Jungle Lore and Man-eaters of Kumaon.

Awarded the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his lifelong work with nature, JimCorbett was unhappy in the post Independence India and left to retire in East Africa. He continued his conservation efforts until his death at the age of eighty.