My Second Man Eating Royal Bengal Tiger

[Bapu]

Bapu, this is highly impressive. In my experience as well, waiting to ambush a man eating Royal Bengal tiger when he returns to feed on a temporarily abandoned natural kill is the most surefire manner to make sure that we are targeting the specific man eater in question (provided that the animal hasn’t been disturbed just like you said).

I think that you would make an excellent author (far better than myself, anyway). I know that you stopped one leopard charge with your 12 gauge (2.75”) BRNO ZP-49 and Eley Alphamax LG shells. Did you also use this combination to stop the second leopard charge ?

Thank you for your kind words. I am aware how well you write Habib Saheb.

During the second charge I had my 06 and 180grs. As I have shot all my maneaters on foot from the ground and none further than 10 yards. This particular leopard was hit behind the shoulder but a little high the shot did anchor him but he still had the strength to come up to me since I was on the ground ( generally you don’t get much time to build machans and one doesn’t want to disturb the leopard as he’s in the vicinity and he would be reasonable lying close ) I just got enough time to reload and take a shot on him.
I feel 06 just works well on leopards.
Honestly haven’t tried my 375. This time if I get an chance i shall.
Bapu

 

[Bapu]

You can see the hide to my left.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Thank you for your kind words. I am aware how well you write Habib Saheb.

During the second charge I had my 06 and 180grs. As I have shot all my maneaters on foot from the ground and none further than 10 yards. This particular leopard was hit behind the shoulder but a little high the shot did anchor him but he still had the strength to come up to me since I was on the ground ( generally you don’t get much time to build machans and one doesn’t want to disturb the leopard as he’s in the vicinity and he would be reasonable lying close ) I just got enough time to reload and take a shot on him.
I feel 06 just works well on leopards.
Honestly haven’t tried my 375. This time if I get an chance i shall.
Bapu

When we meet, Bapu… I’ll manage a box of these for you as well. My favorite leopard bullet out of a .30-06 Springfield.

 

[Bapu]

When we meet, Bapu… I’ll manage a box of these for you as well. My favorite leopard bullet out of a .30-06 Springfield.

View attachment 559062

I do agree. Correct medicine for leopards.

 

[Ruraldoc]

Thanks to Mr Habib and Mr Bapu for posting their real life experiences here.

Between them they have killed a dozen maneating leopards/tigers.

Incredible. You should both write books.

Despite my frequent typos here, I have a minor in English and would be happy to proof read or edit anything you guys want to send me.

It would be an honor.

 

[Mike Wachtel]

Great reading, thanks for posting. Mike from Iowa

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Thanks to Mr Habib and Mr Bapu for posting their real life experiences here.

Between them they have killed a dozen maneating leopards/tigers.

Incredible. You should both write books.

Despite my frequent typos here, I have a minor in English and would be happy to proof read or edit anything you guys want to send me.

It would be an honor.

Why thank you, Ruraldoc. I assure you. Bapu is the far superior hunter than myself. I only hunted 3 man eating Royal Bengal tigers (one from a hut inside a fish farm, one from a macchan & one from a speed boat). The first one succumbed to the gunshot 7 hours after I shot him. The second one succumbed to the gunshot 4 hours after I shot him. The final one succumbed to the gunshot 3 hours after I shot him.

Bapu on the other hand, has shot no less than 9 man eating leopards. All of them on foot from the ground (at ranges no more than 30 feet). And he also stopped 2 charging man eaters, which is something that I never did (nor am I confident that I ever would be brave enough to do). That deserves the highest degree of praise.

I did stop charging African dangerous game (mostly hippopotamus on land but also Cape buffalo, lion and a wounded non-man eating leopard). As well a Gaur and an Asian sloth bear during the Indo-Pak war in 1971. But never a Royal Bengal tiger or a man eating leopard.

 

[mark-hunter]

@Bapu

Some of forum members earlier have written about Indian man eating leopards.
They spoke about village leopard and forest leopard subspecies.

What were the the kind of man eater leopard that you have hunted, if there is such distinction?

 

[Bullhunter]

Is it possible to hunt "wildbor" or even "bluebull" in India today?
Legaly?
For tourists also?

In regards to wild boar and blue bulls in India…
There are government appointed culling teams (called “Shooters”) there who do the culling, but if you really want to shoot wild boars and/or blue bulls in India (Legally)… then, I’ll be more than happy to speak to my contacts there and arrange for you to be a part of the culling team.

This is interessting and an great offer.
I want to come.
How can we arrange this?
Thanks.
F.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

In regards to wild boar and blue bulls in India…
There are government appointed culling teams (called “Shooters”) there who do the culling, but if you really want to shoot wild boars and/or blue bulls in India (Legally)… then, I’ll be more than happy to speak to my contacts there and arrange for you to be a part of the culling team.

This is interessting and an great offer.
I want to come.
How can we arrange this?
Thanks.
F.

Perhaps a private message would interest you ?

 

[PerH]

@Bapu

Some of forum members earlier have written about Indian man eating leopards.
They spoke about village leopard and forest leopard subspecies.

What were the the kind of man eater leopard that you have hunted, if there is such distinction?

The credibility of the former members is highly dubious, as Habib and Bapu have clearly color pictures they have taken themselves with dead maneating Royal bengal tigers and Leopard’s.

The former forum members that either had not a single clear picture or color photograph of ANY dangerous game at all .

and the ones that did were posted , were quickly proven to be photographs from other hunters .

 

[mark-hunter]

The former forum members that either had not a single clear picture or color photograph of ANY dangerous game at all .

Good point, but at least as per their narrative, it was all before 1972. So, no modern fontography then.
At that time, some national television broadcasts were still black-white. Some movies made at that time were still black and white. I will give in this case a benefit of doubt.

Secondly, subspecies of Indian leopard, are still interesting to me, not to much references around - especially for the first two in tropical regions: village leopard - smaller, less dangerous (?), forest leopard, bigger more dangerous (?), cloud leopard, snow leopard in the hills, in the north.

 

[Bapu]

Why thank you, Ruraldoc. I assure you. Bapu is the far superior hunter than myself. I only hunted 3 man eating Royal Bengal tigers (one from a hut inside a fish farm, one from a macchan & one from a speed boat). The first one succumbed to the gunshot 7 hours after I shot him. The second one succumbed to the gunshot 4 hours after I shot him. The final one succumbed to the gunshot 3 hours after I shot him.

Bapu on the other hand, has shot no less than 9 man eating leopards. All of them on foot from the ground (at ranges no more than 30 feet). And he also stopped 2 charging man eaters, which is something that I never did (nor am I confident that I ever would be brave enough to do). That deserves the highest degree of praise.

I did stop charging African dangerous game (mostly hippopotamus on land but also Cape buffalo, lion and a wounded non-man eating leopard). As well a Gaur and an Asian sloth bear during the Indo-Pak war in 1971. But never a Royal Bengal tiger or a man eating leopard.

Habib Saheb honestly there’s nothing as a superior Hunter. We all are hunters here and in my humble opinion I think it’s the opportunity and the situation that makes a man of steel. When tables turn it’s your cool nerves that matters and one learns from experiences like you and I have.

Shooting leopards on foot I do understand is risky but when you have a good team (2nd gun and trackers) you do get a lot of mental support.

Again don’t forget a tiger is a tiger, leopard is no match to a tiger. And you have taken tigers which means alot in my opinion. Hunting maneater tigers is a different ball game altogether. With a changing leopard even if you miss him the possibility on death is minimum (yes they could do some serious damage) but you would be alive to remember the incident rest of your life. With tigers I feel one would be dead and gone.
Gaur and a Bear charges are pretty serious in my opinion as both could be fatal.
With the ban on hunting here things have changed alot. If this continues I feel one day there would be no hunters left to take down maneaters and the only option left would be to poison them.

 

[Bapu]

Good point, but at least as per their narrative, it was all before 1972. So, no modern fontography then.
At that time, some national television broadcasts were still black-white. Some movies made at that time were still black and white. I will give in this case a benefit of doubt.

Secondly, subspecies of Indian leopard, are still interesting to me, not to much references around - especially for the first two in tropical regions: village leopard - smaller, less dangerous (?), forest leopard, bigger more dangerous (?), cloud leopard, snow leopard in the hills, in the north.

Honestly I have no experience of the snow or the clouded leopards.
But yes in the books we always read about the two subspecies of leopards village and the forest. But what I have now noticed is it’s the forest leopards entering the village and killing humans coz both are big and dangerous now. Could have inter breed.
The leopards in the hills are smaller than the ones in the plains. Where I live in State of Gujarat leopards are big.

 

[mark-hunter]

Thanks Bapu!

 

[Bapu]

@Bapu

Some of forum members earlier have written about Indian man eating leopards.
They spoke about village leopard and forest leopard subspecies.

What were the the kind of man eater leopard that you have hunted, if there is such distinction?

Mark-Hunter theses all look like forest leopards as they are big and dangerous.
Don’t see much of a distinction honestly.

 

[Bapu]

Well a couple pictures of mine with the forest department proves that the were maneaters.

 

[Bapu]

Well a couple pictures of mine with the forest department proves that the were maneaters.

My main head tracker on my right without whom hunting maneaters would have been difficult honestly “Ibrahim “ who taught me the jungle craft. Interesting have been on a few hunts with his father also as a child. They are professional trackers from a few generations.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

My main head tracker on my right without whom hunting maneaters would have been difficult honestly “Ibrahim “ who taught me the jungle craft. Interesting have been on a few hunts with his father also as a child. They are professional trackers from a few generations.

Bapu, I have a small question. My Indian friends who cull blue bulls with .30-06 Springfield caliber rifles (using the 180Gr Sellier & Bellot round nosed soft points) tell me that the bullet often distorts (i.e the copper jacket & lead core breaks apart and separates) upon striking heavy bones (like the shoulder bone or scapula).

I am fully aware that leopards (170-200 LB) are obviously far lighter framed than blue bulls (635-680 LB)… but still.

Have you ever seen the 180Gr Sellier & Bellot round nosed soft points break apart or distort when striking heavy leopard bones ?

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Great reading, thanks for posting. Mike from Iowa

Why thank you, Mike.