The Black Panther of Sivanipalli and Other Adventures of the Indian Jungle

Dedication

"To all those who love the still wild places of the earth - the tropical jungles, the towering mountains and rolling hills, the open skies and to all those who love peace, stillness and solitude, wild life and Nature - I dedicate this book"

Contents

Introduction

Author Kenneth Anderson introduces his third book, and explains his reasons for devoting the first five chapters to panthers.

A Panther's Way

Anderson discusses the habitual differences of the panther and tiger, and the methods adopted for tracking them.

Man-Eating Panther of the Yellagiri Hills

A cattle-lifting panther turns man-eater when wounded by a local man's gunshot, and Kenneth Anderson heads to the Yellagiri Hills to investigate. Over the course of many weeks he returns to the Yellagiri Hills and sits up over goat and donkey baits awaiting a successful shot. On a few occasions the panther charges at Anderson, and on one such charge Anderson successfully gets a kill shot in.

Old Munuswamy & The Panther of Magadi

A local shikari guide, Munuswamy (who earns his living by exploiting panther hunters) attempts to gain local notoriety by shooting a cattle lifting panther himself. Failing to kill the animal, the wounded panther turns to attacking humans. The local authorities find out who is responsible for wounding the panther and Munuswamy is given four days to shoot the panther or face jail. Munuswamy's friend Kenneth Anderson arrives to help, and they head to a cave which they believe to be the panther's home.

The Black Panther of Sivanipalli

Anderson heads to Sivanipalli on the trail of a jet black panther which has been killing local cattle. Locating the panther soon enough, Anderson struggles to make a clean shot in the dark due to the panther's fur being black. The next day Anderson follows the trail of the wounded black panther to the mouth of a cave, but in firing a further shot a bee hive opens up and Anderson is attacked by a swarm of bees.

Snakes and Other Jungle Creatures

Anderson discusses his experiences and knowledge of various Indian wildlife, from elephants and wild boar to the king cobra and Russell's viper.

The Killer From Hyderabad

A man-eating tiger starts killing along the railway line in Chelama and over the course of three and a half years is responsible for over eighty human deaths. Anderson arrives on the scene and discovers a pattern in the kill sites, suggesting a four month cycle that the man-eater uses in passing through different locales. After sitting up over baits for many nights, Anderson finally shoots a large tiger. Anderson has his doubts that this is the man-eater, but the locals are convinced enough to drop their guard and return to normal. The man-eater strikes again, killing the wife of a local man, Bala who had also lost his father to the same man-eater. Anderson convinces the distraught man to leave his wife's body out during the night for him to sit over and await the man-eater to return. The only site for Anderson to sit in, is inside the hollow of an old rotten tree. When the tiger arrives Anderson is unable to gain a neat killing position and has to allow the tiger to eat the body of Bala's wife whilst he tries to gain a better sight. Finally Anderson manages to get some shots off, but only manages to wound the tiger. The next day he follows the tiger's blood trail, but when the trail runs out Anderson loses track of the wounded animal. Anderson returns home, and months later human kills are still being reported in the area, and Anderson is always left wondering if it is the same tiger or not.

The Big Bull Bison of Gedesal

Anderson tells the tale of a big bull bison with a deformed, inwards pointing horn. He recounts his many encounters with the bull, ending in the scene of a huge fight the bison had with a tiger.

The Maned Tiger of Chordi

A tiger with an outstanding ruff of hair around his neck turns man-eater, and Anderson recounts his experiences tracking the killer over a period of 5 years.

The Maneater of Pegepalyam

Anderson visits Pegepalyam where he makes the connection of a reported man-eater to be the same tiger who started as just a mauler in his earlier story, 'The Mauler of Rajnagara' (published in his previous book 'Man Eaters and Jungle Killers'). Anderson again fails to kill the man-eater, though the tale concludes in his fourth book 'The Call of the Man Eater' (in the story, 'From Mauler to Man-Eater').