The Call of the Man Eater

Book Jacket (George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1961)

The Call of the Man Eater is the fourth book of jungle tales and man-eaters by Kenneth Anderson, first published in 1961 by George Allen and Unwin.

Author dedication

Kenneth Anderson gratefully dedicates the book to the memory of his father, the late Douglas Stuart Anderson, Superintendent of Military Accounts in the former British Government of India, "who instilled in me, when very young and n the hard way, a love for the wild places and living creatures of the land, the beauties of the countryside, and a deep appreciation of the marvelous ways of Nature and of God - an example which I have imperfectly striven to emulate by passing on these precepts to my son, Donald".^[1]

Contents

Introduction

Anderson introduces his fourth book by explaining he hopes to do something different, aiming to also capture and portray to the reader's mind the background and setting to his stories as well as the exciting events themselves.

The Call of the Man-Eater

Anderson heads to a Gunjur bungalow on the trail of a man-eating tiger when the daughter of a hard working caretaker is killed. Anderson sets out to hunt the man-eater hampered by a lack of supplies, a torch with a failing battery and his caretaker friend whose nerves keep getting the better of him. It soon becomes apparent that the tiger is being led to his kills by a lone jackal, which upon seeing the tiger's next victim lets out a cry so that the tiger can locate its next kill. With limited supplies, Anderson and the caretaker improvise a bait to sit over, by making a scarecrow from the caretaker's pillows and clothes.

The Evil One of Umbalmeru

Local workers start to go missing in the Chamala Valley, plucked from the ground without any drag marks, blood or foot prints during the middle of the afternoon. Locals soon spread word that the Chamala Valley is haunted by an 'Evil One'. Anderson arrives in the valley to unravel this mystery and through some investigations he discovers a very interesting story about a local circus - which leads him to the reason why the man-eater kills during the day, and where it may be found.

A Night by the Camp Fire

Anderson takes us with him to his solitary jungle retreat, The Secret River at Kundukottai. Whilst describing his night in a jungle camp, he also tells the story of how his family acquired certain jungle pets; Bruno the sloth bear, Jackie the hyena and Ella the jackal.

The Black Rogue of the Moyar Valley

Anderson takes an American tourist to the Mysore area to photograph Indian wildlife, and whilst there they encounter a rogue black elephant which had reportedly killed locals. Anderson and the tourist have a narrow escape with the elephant, and later heads back out to track and kill it. The story ends with the black elephant coming to an unexpected and sad end, which leaves Anderson feeling sympathy for the rogue despite its actions.

Jungle Days and Nights

Anderson recounts a collection of events from the Indian jungles, some tragic, some humorous. Including; guiding a stubborn senior factory officer out to shoot a crocodile, a friend who refers to a local rogue elephant as his watchdog and problems faced with the local police when Anderson reports a body of murdered woman in the jungle - resulting in the police accusing him of the murder, which later on influenced a much regretted decision in his life.

The Creatures of the Jungle

Anderson shares his knowledge and experiences about various creatures of the Indian jungle; wild dog, wild boar, sloth bear, pangolin, hyena, tiger, panther and elephant.

The Sulekunta Panther

Anderson's shikaris friend, Muniappa (previously in the story of The Maneater of Jowlagiri - Nine Maneaters And One Rogue) sends many requests for him to come and shoot a cattle lifting tiger, as he will get out of a large local debt if he can provide the skin as settlement. Eventually agreeing to shoot the tiger, Anderson ends up spending the worst night of his life on a badly made machan during a terrible storm. The exposure brings on a bought of malaria, and Anderson does not return to shoot the tiger for another month or so. Upon his return it transpires that in fact the cattle lifter is a panther and not a tiger. Anderson sits up and awaits the panther, and when it arrives and he has a clean shot - he decides at the last minute to let it go.

From Mauler to Man-Eater

This story follows on from two previously published stories: The Mauler of Rajnagara (Man Eaters and Jungle Killers) and The Maneater of Pegepalyam (The Black Panther of Sivanipalli and Other Adventures of the Indian Jungle). Previously a tiger in the area of Rajnagara had turned from a mauler to a man-eater, but had a curious habit of never using its teeth and only killing with its claws. Following the previous failed attempts to shoot the tiger, Anderson and his son, Donald kept watch on the newspapers for any further news. When two human kills are reported in Bejahahai, Donald travels there alone to dispatch the killer. At this point Donald takes over the writing of the story and describes his hunt for the man-eater in detail. Donald eventually kills the maneater at its cave up a steep hill. Examining the body he finds that the whole of the tiger's nose had been blown away by a shot gun, disabling it from using its jaws as a weapon.

References