JIM CORBET ACE HUNTER AND NATURALIST

Edward James Corbett popularly known only as Jim Corbett was British national born in India and was a famous hunter, tracker, naturalist, and author who hunted several man-eating tigers in India. He held the rank of colonel in the British Indian Army and was frequently called upon by the Government to kill man-eating tigers and leopards that were preying on people in the nearby villages of the Kumaon-Garhwal Regions.

A dedicated pursuer of the big cats, Jim Corbett was also a committed conservationist. He gave up his rifle in favour of a camera and it was largely through his efforts that a protected area in Nainital was established as India’s first National Park in 1936. The Hailey National Park was later renamed as Jim Corbett National Park in his honour by the Indian government in 1956 and it was here that the ‘Project Tiger’ initiative was first launched in 1973. Now it has the maximum number of tigers in India in the wild.