Adventure & Wildlife Magazine - Vol 1|Issue 5-6| Nov 16 - Jan 17 Vol 1|Issue 5-6| Nov 16 - Jan 17 | Page 109

ADVENTURE & WILDLIFE
THE JUNGLE BOOK
& THE POWERFUL TIGERNOMICS OF SHER KHAN
By Julian Matthews
Tigermania is not new. It’s been around for millennia. Hindu gods have ridden them for eons, and humans
have been alternatively worshipping or terrorised by them throughout human history. The difference today is
that in today’s islands of wilderness, the remnants of India’s great forests, many have learn to live with them
nearby, even tolerate them, effectively exploiting them for monetary gain.
A
lot has changed since Rudyard Kipling penned his
famous set of stories entitled the Jungle Book in
the 1890’s. The English Empire has gone, so have huge
swathes of those famous verdant jungles and the vast
majority of its tigers with them. Thankfully some things
haven’t changed; Disney is reinventing its old 1967 hit
favourite with today’s extraordinary computer aided
graphics, for launch in April this year.
Like many writers, Rudyard Kipling anthropo-
morphised his characters giving them a range of distinct
personalities. Now nearly 40 years of continuous study
and almost daily contact with their once arch enemy,
homo sapiens, reveals just what personalities they each
exhibit and just how often they mirror many of our
very own human characteristics; extrovert or introvert,
gregarious or sombre, brave or shy, tender or callous,
impetuous or sensible. Krishna, a tigress labelled
Thankfully, and in the real world, grumpy Sher T19 by authorities in Ranthambhore, was born
Khans still live near the town of Saone, the boy child in one of India’s most majestic wild landscapes.
Mowgli’s home. There are still rare black panthers - really
melanistic leopards – or Bagheeras in the southern
Indian forests. Elusive slim legged wolves, aka Akela, still
live amongst the villagers of the central Indian plateau,
and cuddly Baloos, sloth bears, still look for honey in
branches of tall Arjuna trees besides softly flowing waters
of jungle nallahs, or streams.
Though Rudyard Kipling wrote his stories without
having seen many of his imaginary and irrepressibly
creatures in these jungles. This was not altogether
surprising, few did see them. Tigers were still shot on
sight as vermin, and many of the other animals formed
part of the diets of tribal communities who were then still
hunter gatherers. To reveal themselves in daylight, either
to the white faced, topi wearing white hunters on their
elephants, or the skilled trackers of forest hunters was al-
most certain death. Night time was their time to be out
and about, not daytime.
Today in the best protected and most visited parks, many
of its wild animals, especially the carnivores, can exist and
carry out their lives in daylight without the dreaded fear
of guns or poisoned arrows. So habituated are many of
the tigers to the advent of us camera laden travellers in
our gypsy vehicles that one tigress even parks her cubs
nearby when visitors find her, and happily wanders off
to find food, while another uses the line of vehicles to
ambush prey nearby, ensuring memorable photographs
for grateful visitors.
Vol 1|Issue 5-6|Nov 16 - Jan 17
Julian Matthews
Founder TOFTigers
Julian founded TOFTigers in 2004 in
response to plummeting tiger numbers
across Asia.
Read more in Vol 1 Issue 1...
109