The Thinking Tiger

Shrew thought to have been extinct for over two centuries photographed in the Nilgiris Wildlife researchers capture rare photograph of Sonnerat's shrew, believed extinct for over 200 years, in the Nilgiris.

Shrew thought to have been extinct for over two centuries photographed in the Nilgiris
www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/ene...

Wildlife Update: Rare Asiatic Caracal Found in Jaisalmer Rajasthan Wildlife News: Rare Asiatic Caracal rediscovered in Ramgarh, Jaisalmer, highlighting urgent need for habitat conservation amid rising ecological threats.

For decades, survival of caracals in the Thar desert was only argued on the basis of alleged sightings. Now, within the same year, we have found two concrete records of the species in the region.
www.deccanherald.com/india/rajast...

Thank you. Similar thoughts this side! :)

Hi

Source: Following the Equator by Mark Twain (1898)

Full excerpt

Today, I learned.

Mark Twain came to Delhi in March, 1876. One day, when he woke up in the morning, he saw two monkeys had entered his room from a window he'd left open. One was brushing its hair before the glass, and the other was “reading” his notes and “crying.”

Note: The author's name is the pseudonym of an unknown hunter who wrote an account of lion-hunting in Haryana in 1833. You can read it here, The Bengal Monthly Sporting Magazine and Bengal Register vol. 1
archive.org/details/in.e...

“The plain of Hurriana is like a vast sea; the hill of Tosham and, till lately, a peepul tree near Hansi, like ships in the offing . . . could be seen from a great distance towering over the stunted bushes and grass jungle.”

–Quondam, Lion-Shooting, 1833

Thank you for following along! 🙂

Thank you! :)

Well, it's done I guess. Thankfully I was able to stay consistent for a hundred days straight. Hopefully if you followed along, you had fun. I certainly had. 🙏🙏🙏

Day 100/100 of Cool Indian Wildlife History

This is the earliest study of a Siberian crane, painted by Ustad Mansur in the early 17th c. They used to migrate from central Asia to India until 2002 when the last was seen in Bharatpur. Their decline was due to hunting along the migration route.

Source: Jaipur and Its Environs by Harnath Singh Dundlod (1970)

Day 99/100 of Cool Indian Wildlife History

Chaura Rasta, a road in Jaipur's old city popular among students for its book market today, used to be lined with cages of tigers and leopards back in the day. Presumably, they were captured from the forests of Jaipur too. Tigers are extinct here now.

Source: The Jahangirnama: Memoirs of Jahangir, Emperor of India, translated by Wheeler Thackston (1999)

Day 98/100 of Cool Indian Wildlife History

In 1616, Jahangir wanted to show his marksmanship to the Prince of Mewar, Karan Singh, who asked him to shoot a lion between its eyes. Scouts couldn't find one, so Jahangir did the same with a lioness. This took place at Ajmer, Rajasthan.

Day 97/100 of Cool Indian Wildlife History

This photo by a studio called Gobind Ram and Oodey Ram from 1890 shows a tamed cheetah and caracal in Jaipur. From the Mughal period, to the 20th c., Jaipur was among the foremost centres of the elite sport of coursing with cheetahs and caracals in India.

The Fremlin Carpet | Unknown | V&A Explore The Collections Woollen pile carpet 'The Fremlin Carpet', probably made in Lahore, ca. 1640

Source: collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O74043/...

Day 96/100 of Cool Indian Wildlife History

Fremlin Carpet was commissioned by W. Fremlin, an agent of the EEIC, in 1635-40. Among many animal motifs, real and imagined, it features three cheetahs chasing blackbucks, making it the earliest artistic depiction of the cheetah in India by the British.

Sources:

1) The Highlands of India: Vol. II, Being a Chronicle of Field Sports and Travel in India by D. L. F. Newall (1887)

2) The Rifle in India: Being the Sporting Experiences of an Indian Officer by Lt. Col. L.L. Fenton (1923)

Day 95/100 of Cool Indian Wildlife History

Rajkot, Gujarat has many records of multiple cheetahs killed on one hunt. William Loch once speared six of them. E. A. Hardy found another six—one was shot, three speared and two escaped. Some locals too killed a mother and four cubs in 1894.

Just a few more days and you'll have all of them to read whenever you want to.

The way this record is written, I've always wondered if we can trace them later in life in German records. But yes, poor cubs indeed 😔

Last six days left. In less than a week, I won't have my daily ritual of sitting, thinking what wildlife history tidbit I should share today, looking up sources and finally posting it . . .

Source: My Sporting Memories: Forty Years with Notebook & Gun by Major-General Nigel Woodyatt (1923)

Full account if you're interested.

Day 94/100 of Cool Indian Wildlife History

Jack Lowis, an indigo planter in Bihar, once shot a tigress and discovered four cubs that hadn't even opened their eyes yet. While lifting to howdah, his elephant trod one. They raised the other three until 8 months of age and sold them to a German circus.

Source:

1) Mammals of India by T. C. Jerdon (1867)
2) Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (1877)

Day 93/100 of Cool Indian Wildlife History

Acc. to T. C. Jerdon (1867), Javan rhinos were found along the Mahanadi river in Odisha. Since this is a unique record, Valentine Ball investigated and learnt of some captive specimens of unknown species but wasn't convinced of Jerdon's claim.