Corbett Jim: Biography

Corbett Jim is primarily famous for his exploits in the fight against cannibalistic animals. He was very often involved in the Garhwal and Kumaon areas to protect people from tigers and cannibal leopards. For all his personal achievements, he received an honor from local inhabitants, and some even found him a saint. Corbett Jim was very fond of photo and video. After he retired, began writing books about hunting for cannibal animals and the simple life of the people of India.

Youth

July 25, 1875 - the date when the birth of Corbett Jim. His biography begins with the foothills of the Himalayas in the north of India. Full name is Edward James "Jim" Corbett. In his Irish family, he was the eighth child of thirteen. From the very childhood, Jim began to show interest in the surrounding nature. Soon he began to excellently recognize the voices of birds and animals, and could easily locate the beast in his tracks. Corbett studied at the Oak Openings school, and then at the St. Joseph school in Nainital, but, even without studying until nineteen years old, he dropped it and began to work on the railway.

Trapper

According to official data, in the interval from 1907 to 1938 Corbett Jim was able to detect and kill fourteen leopards and nineteen tigers who attacked people. In total, these animals killed more than 1,200 people. It is documented that the first killed tiger, which is called the Champawat ogre, caused the death of 436 people.

Corbett Jim destroyed only those animals that harmed a person. Later, he confessed in his book that he killed an innocent animal only once, and then regretted it very much. After checking the corpses of animal-cannibals it was established that many of them were injured by a man and because they could not fully hunt, they began to attack people. For example, one of the tigers shot by Corbett was injured several times and could not obtain normal food, and then, becoming a cannibal, killed almost 400 people.

The factor of such a frequent occurrence of animal-eating animals was the sporting hunting for carnivores that actively spread in the 1900s. It was very popular with the high officials of British India.

Due to his courage, Corbett Jim won the honor of the inhabitants living in the places where he hunted. Killing each 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 during the stay Corbett demonstrated excellent leadership skills. For all time the detachment lost only one person, but the cause of death was not a military injury, but a seasickness. Subsequently, for all the merits Corbett was awarded the rank of major.

From the hunter to the defenders

In 1924 Corbett decides to leave his post and settles in a small village Kaladhungi. At the end of the decade, he bought a video camera for the first time. Corbett Jim photographed and videotaped, despite knowledge of the tropical thickets, was struggling with difficulty. It was not easy to track down animals because of their secrecy.

Corbett was very excited about the life and environment of tigers. Lots of time gave lectures for schoolchildren about the importance of protecting forests and wildlife. He contributed to founding an association that protected wild animals in the United Provinces.

The Second World War

At the time of the Second World War, Corbett was no longer fit to participate directly in the fighting. At that time, he approached the age of 65, but he still made a proposal for his service to the state. He was elected vice-director of the committee to support soldiers. In 1944, Corbett received the rank of lieutenant colonel and was chosen as a mentor for military operations in the jungle. Soon he was sent to Burma to investigate the arena of military operations of the enemy, but a year later fell ill with malaria and had to go home.

Pension and last years of life

In 1947, Corbett moved to Kenya with his sister and began to show more of himself as a writer. Corbett Jim photographed and videotaped less, but also continued to protect the trees from cutting down in the jungle. Jim Corbett died at the age of 79 years. The cause of death was a heart attack. The date of death is April 19, 1955.

Heritage

• Located in the village of Kaladhungi, Corbett's house was preserved and transformed into a museum.
• In 1957, in honor of Corbett, one of the parks of India was renamed. In the 30-ies of the last century, Jim did much to establish this protected territory.
• In 1968, in honor of the naturalist was named one of the rarest subspecies of the tiger - Indochina.
• In 1994 and 2002, the founder of the foundation, Jim Corbett, restored the graves of the naturalist and his sisters.

Literature and cinema

Corbett Jim is the author of the book "Kumaon Ogres," which was very popular around the world, and especially in India, the US and England. The first print run was 250,000 copies. After some time, the work was translated into 27 languages.

"The science of the jungle," which Corbett released the fourth, by and large is his autobiography.

In addition to these works, Corbett also wrote books: "Leopard from Rudraprayag", "My India", "Temple Tiger".

On the adventures, books and articles Corbett was shot a number of films that have gained popularity in different countries:

• Documentary drama "Man-eaters of India", which was released by the BBC in 1986.
• "India: The Kingdom of the Tiger" - the film was shot in the 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, at the risk of his life, was able to help many simple inhabitants in the fight against cannibalistic animals. To all else he wrote books that still inspire people to love nature and animals.