This is the Jungle

Book jacket

This is the Jungle is the fifth book of jungle tales and man-eaters written by Kenneth Anderson, first published in 1964 by George Allen & Unwin Ltd.

Dedication & Acknowledgment

The book is dedicated to the memory of Kenneth Anderson's late mother, Lucie Anne Anderson. Anderson also acknowledges thanks to his publishers, "I very gladly take this opportunity of expressing my grateful thanks to Malcolm Barnes of George Allen & Unwin Ltd., for all the time and trouble he has given to patiently reading through and editing all my stories, both in this volume and its four predecessors". ^[1]

Contents

Introduction

Anderson introduces his book by discussing how nature loving, solitary individuals such as himself are often seen just as eccentrics. He details how his wish is to capture in his writings more than just a story of killing, and how he hopes his stories will serve the growing protest against the destruction of natural habitat and species.

This is the Jungle

Kenneth Anderson describes the typical experience of sitting out at night in the Southern Indian Jungle, describing the sights, sounds and creatures you may encounter.

The Man-Eater of the Crescent Mountains

Whilst looking for young crocodile specimens in the Cauvery River - Kenneth and his son Donald hear of the man-eating tiger near the towering hill known as the Hogarkhan. Giving up on their crocodile hunt they head to Hogarehalli to find out about the man-eater. Whilst spending a night in the jungle by Maddak Lake, they are awoken by the sound of the man-eater taking his next victim. Tracking the tiger's trail in the early morning they discover the human remains, which turn out to be that of a leper. They then sit over the body throughout the hot day, struggling to keep the vultures from disposing of the kill. The tiger arrives after sundown, and they both get a shot and kill the man-eater together.

Ghooming by Night and Tracking by Day

Kenneth Anderson takes us on a typical night ghooming (the Hindustani term indicating 'wandering') in the jungle, followed by a lesson in jungle lore and daytime tracking.

The Swami of Valaithothu

A hermit Swami moves into Valaithothu at the same time as a cattle lifting tiger turns man-eater in the area. Various coincidental events make the locals come to believe that in fact the Swami and the tiger are the same being. The Swami exploits the locals superstitions and fears by obtaining free residence and food as payment for stopping the tiger from killing them. Kenneth Anderson hears of the story and heads to Valaithothu to rid the area of the man-eater and show the Swami to be nothing but a fraud.

Bagh the Tiger

Anderson uses his knowledge of Indian wildlife to write a fictional story from the animals point of view. Following Bagh the tiger from learning life lessons as a cub, through to adulthood and finally the unfortunate events that lead to him becoming a man eater.

The Villain of Windy valley

Set in the Kollegal Taluk of Coimbatore District in the Windy Valley where a mysterious strong wind appears daily like clockwork between 10pm and 3am - local villagers use inhuman methods to try and rid themselves of cattle lifters. One tigress falls victim to a homemade bomb sewn into the udder of the cow she had killed - blowing away her bottom jaw, she took 3 days to die. The cattle continued to be lifted and so another villager sat out over a kill with his inadequate gun and fired a shot in the dark when the tiger arrived. Only wounding the animal, the tiger turned to man-eating. Anderson, whilst recovering from malaria takes a break from his home and visits the Windy Valley. Using a poorly constructed ground hide he sits over a bait for the man-eater. The tiger arrives, but at the same time as an angry elephant - and as the two animals face off ready to charge, Anderson is left in the middle of the two.

The Lonely Panther of Kuppa Gudda Hill

Anderon's son, Donald recounts the story of a panther kill that he greatly regrets. After shooting a panther from his hide in the Kuppa Gudda Hill, he is attacked immediately from behind by a second panther. The panther comes in through the top of the hide and pins Donald to the floor in a fury, Donald only narrowly escapes a mauling or death by firing his rifle into the ground. Later returning to the site of the first panther kill with some villagers, they discover the dead panther to be a heavily pregnant female, and its fur has been wetted by its distraught mate having spent time by its side licking her. The unhappy mate of the panther soon turns to cattle lifting, and Donald tracks the male to a cave to sadly put it out of its misery.

The One-legged Dutchman of Wild Heritage

Anderson introduces his friend, Jonklass - a one legged Dutchman who has a jungle resort named 'Wild Heritage'. Jonklass then writes his own story, recounting the tale of his attempt to shoot the Misogynist of Mahvanhalla, a male tiger which had a habit of killing and eating tigress. Whilst awaiting the tiger in a machan, Jonklass witnesses a terrible fight to the death between a male tiger and a one tusked elephant.

References