This is the Jungle

This is the Jungle is the fifth book of jungle tales and man-eaters written by Kenneth Anderson , first published in 1964 by George Allen & Unwin Ltd.

Dedication & Acknowledgment

The book is dedicated to the memory of Kenneth Anderson’s late mother, Lucie Anne Anderson. Anderson also acknowledges with thanks to his publishers, “I very gladly take this opportunity of expressing my grateful thanks to Malcolm Barnes of George Allen & Unwin Ltd., for all the time and trouble. both in this volume and its four predecessors “. ^[1]

Contents

Introduction

Anderson introduces his book by discussing how to love nature, solitary individuals such as these are often seen just as eccentrics. He details how his wish is to be captured in his writings more than just a story of killing, and how he hopes his stories will serve the growing protest against the destruction of natural habitat and species.

This is the Jungle

Kenneth Anderson describes the typical experience of living in the Southern Indian Jungle, describing the sights, sounds and creatures you can encounter.

The Man-Eater of the Crescent Mountains

Whilst looking for young crocodile specimens in the Cauvery River – Kenneth and his son Donald hear of the man-eating tiger near the towering hill known to the Hogarkhan. Giving up on their crocodile hunt they head to Hogarehalli to find out about the man-eater. Whilst spending a night in the jungle by Maddak Lake, they are awoken by the sound of the man-eater taking his next victim. Tracking the tiger’s trail in the early morning they discover the human remains, which turn out to be that of a leper. They then sit on the body during the hot day, struggling to keep the vultures from disposing of the kill. The tiger arrives after sundown, and they both get a shot and kill the man-eater together.

Ghosting by Night and Tracking by Day

Kenneth Anderson takes us on a typical night ghosting (the Hindustani term pointing ‘wandering’) in the jungle, followed by a lesson in jungle lore and daytime tracking.

The Swami of Valaithothu

A hermit Swami moves into Valaithothu at the same time as a cattle lifting tiger turns man-eater in the area. Various coincidental events make the locals come to believe that in fact the Swami and the tiger are the same being. The Swami exploits the locals and makes them pay for stopping the tiger from killing them. Kenneth Anderson hears the story and heads to Valaithothu to rid the area of ​​the man-eater and show the Swami to be nothing but a fraud.

Bagh the Tiger

Anderson uses his knowledge of Indian wildlife to write a fictional story from the animals point of view. Following Bagh the tiger from learning life as a cub, through to adulthood and finally the unfortunate events that lead to him becoming a man eater.

The Villain of Windy valley

Set in the Kolgal Taluk of Coimbatore District in the Windy Valley where a mysterious strong wind appears daily like clockwork between 10pm and 3am – local villagers use inhuman methods to try and rid themselves of cattle lifters. One tigress falls victim to a home-made bombshell she has killed – blowing away her bottom jaw, she took 3 days to die. The cattle continued to be lifted and killed in the night. Only wounding the animal, the tiger turned to man-eating. Anderson, while recovering from malaria takes a break from his home and visits the Windy Valley. Using a poorly built ground hide it is over for the man-eater. The tiger arrives,

The Lonely Panther of Kuppa Gudda Hill

Anderon’s sound, Donald recounts the story of a panther kill that he greatly regrets. After shooting a panther from his hide in the Kuppa Gudda Hill, he is attacked from behind by a second panther. The panther comes in the face of the top of the hide and pines Donald to the floor in a fury, Donald only narrowly escapes a mauling or death by firing his rifle into the ground. They are very close to the first panther kill with some villagers, they discover the dead panther to be a heavy pregnant female, and it’s a little bit crazy. The unhappy mate of the panther soon turned to cattle, and donated to his misery.

The One-legged Dutchman Wild Heritage

Anderson introduces his friend, Jonklass – a one-legged Dutchman who has a jungle resort named ‘Wild Heritage’. Jonklass then writes his own story, recounting the tale of his attempt to shoot the Misogynist of Mahvanhalla, a male tiger who had a habit of killing and eating tigress. Whilst awaiting the tiger in a machan, Jonklass witnesses a terrible fight to death between a male tiger and a tusked elephant.

References