The Corbett Collection - Volume 1

The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag

From the original 1948 US edition: This is the story of the most publicized jungle animal that ever lived. In his best-selling Man-Eater's of Kumaon, Jim Corbett told of his battles with many man-eating tigers. In this book he tells a sustained and climactic story of his hard-won battle with a single leopard. Leopards very rarely become man-eaters, but those few that do are the peers of the man-eating tigers in ferocity and possess an even greater cunning.

Roaming over an area of five hundred square miles, the Rudraprayag leopard brought terror to the inhabitants of Garhwal for eight years. It killed, according to official Government record, 125 human beings. Its victims were generally seized from inside their houses, a fact that caused the people to barricade their homes even during the most stifling weather. Year after year all efforts fo kill the man-eater failed, including those of sixteen India shikaris organized by the Government for the purpose. Twice the leopard was caught, once in a trap and once in a cave, only to escape and continue its depredations. The villagers came to regard the beast as endowed with supernatural powers.

Off and on, Corbett stalked the Rudraprayag leopard during the last two years of its career, finally destroying it at the end of an uninterrupted ten-week pursuit, on a spot where it had killed three victims in rapid succession. His account of the chase is as thrilling as anything to be found in Man-Eaters of Kumaon.

My Kumaon

My Kumaon is a series of collected letters, articles, and anecdotes, some written by Corbett and others written about Corbett, that provide important background information regarding the creation of his legendary books and their place in history. It also reveals Corbett's unwavering affection for the people with whom he shared a land and a life, and the great interest he took in preserving India's iconic wildlife for generations to come.

Also see The Corbett Collection Volume 2: Man-Eaters of Kumaon, My India, and Jungle Lore