Corbett Jim: biography

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Corbett Jim is best known for his exploits in the fight against cannibal animals. He was very often used in the Garhwal and Kumaon regions to protect people from tigers and man-eating leopards. For all his personal achievements, he received honor from the local inhabitants, and some even found a saint in him. Corbett Jim was very fond of photography and video filming. After he retired, he began to write books about the hunting of cannibal animals and the simple life of the people of India.

Youth

July 25, 1875 is the date Corbett Jim was born. His biography begins with the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India. His full name is Edward James "Jim" Corbett. In his Irish family, he was the eighth child of thirteen. Since childhood, Jim began to show interest in the natural environment. Soon he began to perfectly recognize the voices of birds and animals, and he could easily determine the location of the beast by its tracks. Corbett attended Oak Openings and then St. Joseph's Nainital, but before he was 19, he left to work for the railroad.

Trapper

According to official figures, in the period from 1907 to 1938 Corbett Jim was able todiscover and kill fourteen leopards and nineteen tigers that attacked people. In total, these beasts killed more than 1200 people. It is documented that the 1st killed tiger, which is called the Champawat man-eater, caused the death of 436 people.

Corbett Jim destroyed only those animals that harmed humans. Subsequently, he admitted in his book that he killed an innocent animal only once, which he later regretted very much. After checking the corpses of cannibals, it was established that many of them were injured by humans and, due to the fact that they could not fully hunt, began to attack people. For example, one of the tigers shot by Corbett was wounded several times and could not get normal food, and then, becoming a cannibal, killed almost 400 people.

The factor of such a frequent appearance of man-eating animals was the sport hunting for carnivores, which was actively spread in the 1900s. She was very popular with the high officials of British India.

Because of his bravery, Jim Corbett won respect from the inhabitants of the places where he hunted. By killing every beast and saving people, Corbett risked his own life.

World War I

To participate in the war, Jim Corbett formed his own detachment in India, consisting of 500 people. The detachment was sent to France, where Corbett demonstrated excellent leadership skills during his stay. For all the time, the detachment lost only one person, but the cause of death was not a combat wound, but seasickness. Subsequently, for all his merits, Corbett was awarded the rank of major.

From hunter to defender

In 1924, Corbett decides to leave his post and settles in the small village of Kaladhungi. At the end of the decade, he purchased his first video camera. Jim Corbett took photographs and videos, despite his knowledge of the rainforest, with difficulty. It was difficult to track down the beasts due to their ste alth.

Corbett was very excited about the life and habitat of tigers. He devoted a lot of time to lectures for schoolchildren on the importance of protecting forests and wildlife. Contributed to the founding of an association dedicated to the protection of wild animals in the United Provinces.

World War II

At the start of World War II, Corbett was no longer fit to participate directly in hostilities. At that point, he approached the age of 65, but he still made a proposal for his service to the state. He was chosen as Vice Director of the Soldier Support Committee. In 1944, Corbett received the rank of lieutenant colonel and was chosen as a mentor in the conduct of military operations in the jungle. Soon he was sent to Burma to investigate the arena of enemy military operations, but a year later he fell ill with malaria and had to go home.

Retirement and last years of life

In 1947, Corbett went to live in Kenya with his sister and began to express himself more as a writer. Corbett Jim did less photography and videography, but also continued to protect trees from cutting down in the jungle. Jim Corbett has died at the age of 79. Causedeath was a heart attack. Date of death - April 19, 1955.

Legacy

• Located in the village of Kaladhungi, Corbett's house has been preserved and converted into a museum.
• In 1957, one of the parks in India was renamed in honor of Corbett. In the 1930s, Jim did much to establish this protected area.
• In 1968, one of the rarest subspecies of the Indochinese tiger was named after a naturalist.
• In 1994 and 2002, the founder of the Jim Corbett Foundation restored the graves of the naturalist and his sister.

Literature and cinema

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

Jungle Science, Corbett's fourth release, is largely his autobiography.

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

A number of films have been made based on Corbett's adventures, books and articles, which have gained popularity in different countries:

• Documentary drama "Cannibals of India", which was released by the BBC in 1986.
• "India: Kingdom of the Tiger" - the film was shot in IMAX, based on the books by Jim Corbett.
• The Leopard of Rudraprayag was based on 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, risking his life, was able to help many ordinary people in the fight against cannibals. In addition, he wrote books that still inspire people to love nature and animals.