The Marauder Of Habiganj

[Ridgewalker]

Another excellent story of the past! Thanks for taking the time to share!

 

[Jordy300wby]

Hello Professor fantastic story thanks for sharing!! I have allways had a facination with venomous snakes while on a hunt in Namibia i was fortunate enough to see a huge black mamba and a beautiful boomslang memories i will never forget i am wondering if you had any close encounters with snakes in you’re adventures?

 

[Professor Mawla]

Another excellent story of the past! Thanks for taking the time to share!

@Ridgewalker
Thank you so much .

 

[Professor Mawla]

Hello Professor fantastic story thanks for sharing!! I have allways had a facination with venomous snakes while on a hunt in Namibia i was fortunate enough to see a huge black mamba and a beautiful boomslang memories i will never forget i am wondering if you had any close encounters with snakes in you’re adventures?

@Jordy300wby
Thank you so much . In Bangladesh , we have seven different species of snakes . However , the largest number of fatalities are caused by Indian cobras . Every year , I estimate that I kill 17 to 18 of them . I typically use my Laurona 12 bore sidelock ejector and an Eley Alphamax 2 3/4 inch number 4 birdshot shell , for this application . However , I once shot an Indian cobra in the head with my .458 WM ( Winchester Magnum ) and a Winchester Super X 510 grain soft nosed factory load . There was no head left .

 

[Ridge Runner]

Thank you for another of your adventure reports.

 

[Professor Mawla]

Thank you for another of your adventure reports.

@Ridge Runner
Thank you so much .

 

[rinehart0050]

Another great story- thank you. Grizzly work necessary to bait the target.

 

[cpr0312]

Thanks for sharing with us!

 

[Professor Mawla]

Another great story- thank you. Grizzly work necessary to bait the target.

@rinehart0050
Thank you so much . If a marauding cheetah has fed on less than five people , then it is possible to lure them in by using live animal baits .

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

It was October 4 , 1976 when I was first assigned to supervise the building of a water tank in a tea estate , located in the Northern outskirts of Habiganj . The process would take our workers around two complete months . During this time , the owners told me that I could shoot two barking deer and two wild boar on each month at night . Considering how much I love(d) hunting and how much I enjoy(ed) the venison of wild game , I gladly took them up on their offer .

One night , I promised Joy and Rabbani ( his wife ) that I would bring them back a fine wild boar , which Rabbani intended to stuff and spit roast for serving at one of their family dinner parties . While they were certainly not poor by any means , no sensible person who eats pork would ever deny a large freshly shot wild boar which they were going to get for free . So I began to make preparations . That evening ( after the construction workers had gone back home for the night ) , I decided to have a go at a wild boar .

I was accompanied by a 25 year old man named Farid ( the assistant caretaker of the tea estate ) and at night , we decided to try finding a few wild boar near the stream which ran through the tea estate . My reason for bringing Farid along , was twofold :

A ) I needed someone who possessed a great deal of local knowledge about every nook and cranny of the tea estate and which parts of the tea estate were frequented by wild game .
B ) After shooting the wild boar ( some of which can usually weigh up to 137 kilograms in Bangladesh ) , I would need someone to help me carry the carcass back indoors .

I was carrying my Laurona 12 bore ( 2 3/4 inch chambers ) sidelock ejector side by side shotgun , which was loaded in the chamber of each barrel with an Eley Alphamax 2 3/4 inch LG shell . Clamped to the fore end of my 12 bore , was a powerful six cell torchlight ( to provide illumination for my nocturnal shooting activities ) . In the breast pocket of my blue check cotton poplin dress shirt , I kept four extra Eley Alphamax LG shells . Farid had a hurricane lamp in his hands . He suggested that we try looking for the wild boars along a particular spot near the stream where a patch of wild rice was growing .


And thus , we were off . Cautiously following the stream , we both pressed forward until we found a small sounder of wild boars feeding on the wild grain . They were about 100 yards away from us , when we noticed them . Most of the wild boars were sows and sub mature animals . However , we caught sight of three large male wild boars . After observing them for roughly two minutes , I singled out the largest one which I wanted to shoot . Instructing Farid to put out the light of the hurricane ( in order to prevent the wild boars from noticing it and getting alerted as to our presence ) , we both crouched on the ground and slowly began to crawl towards the wild boars in order to close the range between them and us .


Once we got within ten metres of the sounder , I shouldered my 12 bore as I waited for my intended target to present a favorable shot . Leaping up , I switched on the six cell torchlight and took aim at the largest male wild boar . I did not even wait for him to turn and look at me . I instantly pulled the left trigger of my Laurona 12 bore . The fairly concentrated charge of LG slugs ( there were eight in an Eley Alphamax LG shell ) caught the wild boar right between the two shoulder blades and he dropped to the shot , lying motionless on the ground . The other wild boars ( caught by surprise ) quickly dispersed . Farid and I then , approached the downed wild boar . I instructed Farid to grab ahold of the hind legs while I went to grab ahold of the fore legs . All of a sudden that wild boar sprung back to life and began dashing away . We suddenly realized that he had not succumbed to my gunshot , at all . I desperately unslung my Laurona 12 bore from my shoulder , took aim at the fleeing wild boar and instinctively pulled the right trigger . The charge of LG slugs caught him in the rear hams , but he disappeared into the thick foliage .


Hurriedly removing the two empty LG shells from the chambers of my 12 bore , I reloaded the shotgun with two more Eley Alphamax LG shells and yelled at Farid to follow me while we went after the wounded wild boar . After about 15 minutes of searching through the thick foliage , we finally found the


wild boar . He was lying motionless under some neem plants . I cautiously approached him and poked the muzzles of my 12 bore into his right eye . No movement . He had finally succumbed to his injuries and had died under the neem plants . Looking around , I realized that we had reached the very edge of the tea estate .


I took out my carbon steel Case trapper folding knife and a roll of para cord from the pocket of my cream flannel dress trousers . Cutting off two large pieces of para cord , I handed one piece to Farid while I took the other . Farid lashed the hind legs of the wild boar together , while I lashed the front legs of the animal together . I told Farid to go and look around for a suitably heavy and large tree branch . This ; we would pass between the tied up hind legs and fore legs of the carcass so that we could carry it back inside , a little easier .

Five minutes later , Farid came back to me . He did not have any tree branch in his hands and was overwhelmed with fear . When I asked him what the matter was , he motioned me to follow him . This , I duly did . I soon discovered what Farid had found , which had terrified him speechless .

It was a human corpse . A little boy ; perhaps seven years old . The boy’s scalp was almost completely ripped off his skull . Both eyes had been gouged out and both ears had been ripped off . His rib cage was torn open and his lungs were pierced . He was disemboweled and his intestines were falling out of the large lacerations in his stomach and abdomen . The boy’s corpse was missing flesh from both the buttocks . Just by observing the wound patterns on the corpse , I knew that there is only one thing which could do this to a human being - a cheetah . And the fact that both the buttocks were missing flesh , told me that this was no ordinary cheetah but a marauder .

View attachment 364009
Laurona 12 bore sidelock ejector side by side shotgun belonging to the author.
View attachment 364008
Eley Alphamax LG shells belonging to the author .
[Professor Mawla

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

It was October 4 , 1976 when I was first assigned to supervise the building of a water tank in a tea estate , located in the Northern outskirts of Habiganj . The process would take our workers around two complete months . During this time , the owners told me that I could shoot two barking deer and two wild boar on each month at night . Considering how much I love(d) hunting and how much I enjoy(ed) the venison of wild game , I gladly took them up on their offer .

One night , I promised Joy and Rabbani ( his wife ) that I would bring them back a fine wild boar , which Rabbani intended to stuff and spit roast for serving at one of their family dinner parties . While they were certainly not poor by any means , no sensible person who eats pork would ever deny a large freshly shot wild boar which they were going to get for free . So I began to make preparations . That evening ( after the construction workers had gone back home for the night ) , I decided to have a go at a wild boar .

I was accompanied by a 25 year old man named Farid ( the assistant caretaker of the tea estate ) and at night , we decided to try finding a few wild boar near the stream which ran through the tea estate . My reason for bringing Farid along , was twofold :

A ) I needed someone who possessed a great deal of local knowledge about every nook and cranny of the tea estate and which parts of the tea estate were frequented by wild game .
B ) After shooting the wild boar ( some of which can usually weigh up to 137 kilograms in Bangladesh ) , I would need someone to help me carry the carcass back indoors .

I was carrying my Laurona 12 bore ( 2 3/4 inch chambers ) sidelock ejector side by side shotgun , which was loaded in the chamber of each barrel with an Eley Alphamax 2 3/4 inch LG shell . Clamped to the fore end of my 12 bore , was a powerful six cell torchlight ( to provide illumination for my nocturnal shooting activities ) . In the breast pocket of my blue check cotton poplin dress shirt , I kept four extra Eley Alphamax LG shells . Farid had a hurricane lamp in his hands . He suggested that we try looking for the wild boars along a particular spot near the stream where a patch of wild rice was growing .


And thus , we were off . Cautiously following the stream , we both pressed forward until we found a small sounder of wild boars feeding on the wild grain . They were about 100 yards away from us , when we noticed them . Most of the wild boars were sows and sub mature animals . However , we caught sight of three large male wild boars . After observing them for roughly two minutes , I singled out the largest one which I wanted to shoot . Instructing Farid to put out the light of the hurricane ( in order to prevent the wild boars from noticing it and getting alerted as to our presence ) , we both crouched on the ground and slowly began to crawl towards the wild boars in order to close the range between them and us .


Once we got within ten metres of the sounder , I shouldered my 12 bore as I waited for my intended target to present a favorable shot . Leaping up , I switched on the six cell torchlight and took aim at the largest male wild boar . I did not even wait for him to turn and look at me . I instantly pulled the left trigger of my Laurona 12 bore . The fairly concentrated charge of LG slugs ( there were eight in an Eley Alphamax LG shell ) caught the wild boar right between the two shoulder blades and he dropped to the shot , lying motionless on the ground . The other wild boars ( caught by surprise ) quickly dispersed . Farid and I then , approached the downed wild boar . I instructed Farid to grab ahold of the hind legs while I went to grab ahold of the fore legs . All of a sudden that wild boar sprung back to life and began dashing away . We suddenly realized that he had not succumbed to my gunshot , at all . I desperately unslung my Laurona 12 bore from my shoulder , took aim at the fleeing wild boar and instinctively pulled the right trigger . The charge of LG slugs caught him in the rear hams , but he disappeared into the thick foliage .


Hurriedly removing the two empty LG shells from the chambers of my 12 bore , I reloaded the shotgun with two more Eley Alphamax LG shells and yelled at Farid to follow me while we went after the wounded wild boar . After about 15 minutes of searching through the thick foliage , we finally found the


wild boar . He was lying motionless under some neem plants . I cautiously approached him and poked the muzzles of my 12 bore into his right eye . No movement . He had finally succumbed to his injuries and had died under the neem plants . Looking around , I realized that we had reached the very edge of the tea estate .


I took out my carbon steel Case trapper folding knife and a roll of para cord from the pocket of my cream flannel dress trousers . Cutting off two large pieces of para cord , I handed one piece to Farid while I took the other . Farid lashed the hind legs of the wild boar together , while I lashed the front legs of the animal together . I told Farid to go and look around for a suitably heavy and large tree branch . This ; we would pass between the tied up hind legs and fore legs of the carcass so that we could carry it back inside , a little easier .

Five minutes later , Farid came back to me . He did not have any tree branch in his hands and was overwhelmed with fear . When I asked him what the matter was , he motioned me to follow him . This , I duly did . I soon discovered what Farid had found , which had terrified him speechless .

It was a human corpse . A little boy ; perhaps seven years old . The boy’s scalp was almost completely ripped off his skull . Both eyes had been gouged out and both ears had been ripped off . His rib cage was torn open and his lungs were pierced . He was disemboweled and his intestines were falling out of the large lacerations in his stomach and abdomen . The boy’s corpse was missing flesh from both the buttocks . Just by observing the wound patterns on the corpse , I knew that there is only one thing which could do this to a human being - a cheetah . And the fact that both the buttocks were missing flesh , told me that this was no ordinary cheetah but a marauder .

View attachment 364009
Laurona 12 bore sidelock ejector side by side shotgun belonging to the author.
View attachment 364008
Eley Alphamax LG shells belonging to the author .

@ Professor Malwa
Maybe you should had got hold of some of our friends (Major Khans) lethal ball cartridges as he swore by them for his shikars. Is the cheetal the same as a Forrest panther.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

The next day , panic had spread all across the area around the tea estates in Habiganj . The little boy was the son of one of the local rice farmers . Upon seeing his corpse , the boy’s parents had completely broken down psychologically . While both parents had broken down into tears , his mother was actually experiencing a difficulty in breathing due to her extensive crying .

When I was called to the head office of the Habiganj Forest Guards to give my statement about how I had come across the boy’s corpse , the Forest Guards gave me a piece of information which came as a bit of a surprise to me . They were well aware of the presence of the marauding cheetah , for at least the last one month . The marauder had fatally mauled and eaten at least 13 people so far ( which they knew of ) . It was quite active around all of the tea estates and farms in this part of Habiganj . When I asked why the Forest Guards had not publicly declared the presence of a marauder in the area , they claimed that they were acting on the orders of local tea estate owners and that local bureaucrats were involved . As harvest season was coming , local tea estate owners did not want their employees to panic and stop coming to work .

After giving my statement , I was getting ready to leave the head office when the senior Forest Guard called me back . Knowing that I was a hunter who had already shot a few marauding cheetahs in the recent past , he made me an offer - 500 Taka if I could get rid of the marauder . I told him that I would do it for 600 Taka , because I needed some extra expenses to hunt down this marauder . The Forest Guard asked me what kind of extra expenses I was talking about . I explained that a cheetah which has fed on more than seven people , cannot be drawn in by using animal baits . I would need to purchase a human corpse from a local medical college , in order to use it as bait . The Forest Guard agreed to pay me the desired amount . And thus , I was after yet another marauder .

I went back to my apartment and used the rotary telephone to give Joy a call . I asked if he would like to assist me in hunting down another marauder . Being my good friend , Joy ( like always ) readily agreed and asked me how he could help . I asked him if he could manage a healthy human corpse from some local medical students ( who used to purchase them as cadavers ) . Joy told me that he would need one day , but that he would arrange the corpse .

I then , went to my Ford pickup truck and decided to take a tour around the different locations where the corpses of the marauder’s victims had been found . The senior Forest Guard had provided me with a detailed map which had all the locations of the kill sites marked in red . I spent the whole day studying these sites which were concentrated across a very particular area . For my self protection , I took along my Laurona 12 bore which was loaded with Eley Alphamax LG shells . You never knew if you could cross paths with wild boars , wild dogs , Asian sloth bears or a marauding cheetah ( especially in this case ) . As I observed this area , I noticed one very serious problem .

There were countless small caves in this area , any one of which could be a perfect hiding spot for a cheetah . The trees around this area were all covered with scratch marks ; a clear indication that at least one cheetah had been passing through this area and using the trees to clean their claws . I also found several pug marks of a cheetah around this entire area , some of which were leading into the caves . While I contemplated going into the caves and straightaway commencing my search for the marauder ( especially since I was armed with my Laurona 12 bore ) , I eventually decided against it . Rather than tempt fate and risk getting ambushed , I rationalized that it would be a wiser approach to draw the marauder out towards me .

This , I was determined to do the following day .

GRAPHIC CONTENT BELOW



















View attachment 364099
The Author standing with the victim of a marauder ( in this case , a Royal Bengal tiger ) . December 23, 1976

GRAPHIC CONTENT ABOVE

@Professor Malwa
This is the same method that our dear friend used in days gone by. It certainly worked for him so I look forward to reading if it worked as well for your self. I agree with your method of luring the beast in, a live animal would not have been any use at all.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Joy and I waited on the tree blind for the entire night . There was pin drop silence , barring the occasional call of an owl or a fox in the distance .

But it was only around 10:30 PM , that we began to hear something moving in the bushes . Our eyes glued to the folding plastic table and it’s contents , we noticed a large dark feline silhouette slowly coming out of the bushes . Just by seeing the general shape of the animal , we knew at once that it was a cheetah . And the odds of more than one cheetah traveling through this particular route were nigh unlikely . Thus ; we were virtually certain that the cheetah which we were seeing before us was actually none other than the marauder .

The cheetah began to sniff the smell of the raw human meat and slowly drew closer to the folding table . I shouldered my Laurona 12 bore and knew that I had to time my shots perfectly if I hoped to bring the marauder down quickly . The marauder placed it’s fore paws on the edge of the table in order to haul itself up and I instantly switched on the six cell torchlight , shining the light into the cheetah’s eyes . The temporarily blinded animal looked up at the source of light , in confusion . I pulled both the triggers of my Laurona 12 bore , taking care to aim at the marauder’s chest . The two gunshots loudly echoed through the forest , as the concentrated charge of 16 LG slugs caught the cheetah full on in the chest ( the muscles of which were very relaxed as the cheetah had been forced to raise it’s fore paws up in order to climb on top of the folding table ) . The animal roared in pain , dropping to the ground and springing back onto it’s feet at the very next moment . I hurriedly removed two more Eley Alphamax LG shells from my breast pocket , opened the breech of my Laurona 12 bore and loaded the fresh ammunition into the chambers before closing the breech shut . I was certain that I would be needing to give the marauder a few more shots to take it down . However , this need never materialized . For in the very next moment , the marauder simply dropped to the ground . And did not even twitch .

Cautiously staring at the motionless animal for two entire minutes , Joy and I finally climbed down the tree blind . We cautiously approached the fallen cheetah and I poked it in the left eye with the muzzles of my Laurona 12 bore . It really was dead .

View attachment 364107
The author sitting near the scourge of Habiganj . October 6 , 1976

@Professor Malwa
Another very exciting story sir .Keep writing please
Bob.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Anayeth , this is absolutely brilliantly written ... As always , my young friend . Out of all of us , you have had the most successful track record in using buckshot to lay low forest panthers .

Out of curiosity , how many of these old Eley Alphamax LG cartridges do you still have in stock ? I used to exclusively use Eley Alphamax AAA cartridges until Eley discontinued them and my stock got exhausted . Now , I use Winchester Australia 2.75 inch 32 gram AAA cartridges .

@ major Kahn
My dear friend Poton your friend the professor needs to get hold of some of your lethal ball cartridges or maybe you could supply him with some Breneke slugs for his shikars. I agree with you that his stories are well written and exciting to read. I hope you are keeping safe and well my friend and enjoying shikar times.
Your humble reader and friend .
Bob Nelson
I am going to search for another of the Professors fine articles.