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What was tiger hunting like in India during the 1920s?
During the 1920s, tiger hunting was a popular sport among the British colonial elite and Indian royalty, with estimates suggesting up to 80,000 tigers were killed in India between 1875 and 1925.
The number of tigers in India declined sharply from an estimated 40,000 at the start of the 20th century to only 4,000 by 1964 due to extensive hunting.
Tiger hunting was seen as a symbol of the extravagance and might of the British Empire in India, inspiring popular imperial mythology and lore.
In 1911, during a visit to India for his coronation, King George V reportedly killed 39 tigers and 18 rhinoceroses in the Nepalese Terai region, a feat celebrated in various royal publications.
In 1924, American Brigadier General William Mitchell hunted tigers with an Indian maharaja, an event documented in National Geographic magazine.
The Maharaja of Kotah, Umed Singh II, modified a Rolls-Royce Phantom in the 1920s, outfitting it with spotlights, a mounted machine gun, and a Lantaka cannon for nighttime tiger safaris in the Rajastani hills.
Newly crowned Rewa kings in Central India believed it was auspicious to slay 109 tigers after their coronation, highlighting the ritualistic significance of tiger hunting.
On an average hunting day, the parties would kill not only tigers but also large numbers of elephants, rhinoceroses, antelope, deer, jackals, and birds, leading to the decimation of vast tracts of forest and wildlife.
The hunting expeditions were meticulously planned and organized, often involving hundreds of beaters, elephants, and local guides to track and flush out tigers from the dense forests.
Tiger hunting was a collaborative effort between the colonial British and local Indian communities, who provided invaluable knowledge of the terrain and tiger behavior.
As the Edwardian era came to an end and the British Empire began to decline, the glorious days of tiger hunting in India were being measured against a growing conservation movement.
The colorized images and videos of tiger hunting in the 1920s offer a glimpse into the historical practice, providing a visual record of this once-popular sport.
The Reddit post showcasing a colorized image of tiger hunting in India in the 1920s has received significant attention, reflecting the modern public's fascination with this bygone era.
The YouTube video "Tiger hunting between 1860 -1872 [A.I.
colorized]" allows viewers to experience the historical practice through the use of AI-powered colorization techniques.
The National Geographic article from 1924 provides insights into the scale and spectacle of tiger hunting, with details about the size of the captured tiger and the involvement of a Maharaja.
The book "Shooting a Tiger: Big-Game Hunting and Conservation in Colonial India" positions tiger hunting at the heart of colonial rule, demonstrating its political, practical, and symbolic significance.
The Hiedra Centers article offers a concise history of tiger hunting in India, highlighting the cultural and ceremonial aspects of this practice.
The Africa Hunting website features rare hunting photographs from India during the British rule, showcasing the grandeur and popularity of this sport among the Indian royalty and colonial elite.
The PDF titled "History of Hunting in the Indian Subcontinent" by Kavya Chimalgi provides a comprehensive overview of the scale and impact of hunting activities in the region, including the decimation of wildlife populations.
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