Know some interesting fact about hunter, tracker, naturalist, and author Jim Corbett: Birthday Special
By Line: Shivendra Pandey
A man of wildlife Jim Corbett born as Edward James Corbett is the man who saved humans from tigers and then saved tigers from humans. Corbett was born of British ancestry in the town of Nainital in the Kumaon of the Himalaya (now in the Indian state of Uttrakhand). He grew up in a large family of sixteen children and was the eighth child of Christopher William Corbett and his wife Mary Jane (née Prussia).
He killed around 19 tigers and 14 leopards as per the historical facts during the year of 1907 to 1938. Day by day tigers were killing the humans and this increasing fear was affecting the population.
He learned that tigers became man-eaters only because they were hunted by the humans and just to save themselves with the gunshots they used to attack the human. Just to make the space between the humans and wildlife he decided to spread awareness of saving wildlife and nature from humans.
That day the first step towards the formation of Corbett was taken by starting the awareness about saving nature and wildlife.
Corbett bought his first camera in the late 1920s and—inspired by his friend Frederick Walter Champion — started to record tigers on cine film. Although he had an intimate knowledge of the jungle, it was a demanding task to obtain good pictures, as the animals were exceedingly shy.
He was the man who played a key role in establishing the Jim Corbett National Park and spread a lot of awareness about conserving wildlife and nature.
He gave lectures to the groups, schools, and colleges for the awareness about how nature and jungles are important to us and the wildlife in them.
After when the Jim Corbett Park was established its name was kept after the Governor of the place, Lord Malcolm Hailey and was kept as Hailey National Park. Later it was named as Ramaganga National Park and only after 1954-55, it was named as the Jim Corbett National Park to give tribute to this leading man behind this conservation initiative.
Few famous quotes by Jim Corbet:
“Tigers, except when wounded or when man-eaters, are on the whole very good-tempered…Occasionally a tiger will object to too close an approach to its cubs or to a kill that it is guarding. The objection invariably takes the form of growling, and if this does not prove effective itis followed by short rushes accompanied by terrifying roars. If these warnings are disregarded, the blame for any injury inflicted rests entirely with the intruder”- Jim Corbett”
― Jim Corbett
“I had spent many nights in the jungle looking for game, but this was the first time I had ever spent a night looking for a man-eater. The length of road immediately in front of me was brilliantly lit by the moon, but to right and left the overhanging trees cast dark shadows, and when the night wind agitated the branches and the shadows moved, I saw a dozen tigers advancing on me, and bitterly regretted the impulse that had induced me to place myself at the man-eater’s mercy. I lacked the courage to return to the village and admit I was too frightened to carry out my self-imposed task, and with teeth chattering, as much from fear as from cold, I sat out the long night. As the grey dawn was lighting up the snowy range which I
was facing, I rested my head on my drawn-up knees, and it was in this position my men an hour later found me fast asleep; of the tiger I had neither heard nor seen anything.”
― Jim Corbett, champawat man-eater
“The book of nature has no beginning, as it has no end. Open this book where you will, and at any period of your life, and if you have the desire to acquire knowledge you will find it of intense interest, and no matter how long or how intently you study the pages, your interest will not flag, for in nature there is no finality.”
― Jim Corbett
“The time I spent in the jungles held unalloyed happiness for me, and that happiness I would now gladly share. My happiness, I believe, resulted from the fact that all wildlife is happy in its natural surroundings. In nature there is no sorrow, and no repining. A bird from a flock, or an animal from a herd, is taken by hawk or carnivorous beast and those that are left rejoice that their time had not come today, and have no thought of tomorrow.”
― Jim Corbett, Jungle Lore