Tiger of Mundachipallam

The Tiger of Mundachipallam was a male man-eating Bengal tiger, which in the 1950s killed seven people in the vicinity of the village of Pennagaram, four miles from the Hogenakkal Falls, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India.

First attacks

Its first victim was a fisherman who disturbed the tiger whilst it was mating in the jungle near the banks of the Mundachipallam river. The tiger instantly killed the man, though it did not eat him. A few weeks later, the same tiger killed a woodcutter and as before, did not eat the victim. Two months later, the tiger killed a woman gathering fruit. She was the first victim to be eaten. The tiger killed three more victims in quick succession, one by the 7th milestone of Ghat Road, the second by the banks of the Chinar river, the third a mile from the village of Ootaimalai.

First hunt for the tiger

Kenneth Anderson was contacted by his shikari, Ranga, at Bangalore, but was unable to go right away due to prior engagements. After two more killings, Anderson arrived at Ootaimalai and was assisted in his hunt by Ranga and three other men; Byra, Sowree and Lucas. The three latter men, armed with a .12 bore gun, volunteered to scout around the neighbouring forest and along the Combaitore bank. Ranga acquired three baits, the first of which was tied a mile up the Chinar river from where it joined to the Cauvery, the second three miles further, where Mundachipallam met the Chinar. The third bait was tethered 100 yards from the site of the first killing. This proved unsuccessful, as after five days, the tiger left the baits untouched and claimed another human victim. The victim was a man, killed 100 yards from his hut and dragged to the banks of the Chinar where he was eaten.

Second hunt for the tiger

Anderson ordered the building of a blind near the site of the kill, where he hoped the tiger would return to finish its meal. Anderson waited in the blind throughout the night, at one point mistaking a striped hyena for the tiger, which quickly left the area upon being hit by torchlight. The tiger eventually came, but was disturbed by the sound of Anderson’s rifle knocking against the bamboo surrounding the blind. The tiger moved behind the blind, though could not attack, due to the lack of an opening. Eventually, the tiger left.

Third hunt for the tiger

The four men, now aided by a pariah dog named Kush-Kush-Kariya belonging to Sowree, resumed the hunt by checking on the three baits. Ranga, while being accompanied to the second bait by a villager, encountered the tiger on the way. The two men narrowly escaped with their lives by climbing a tree. A group of villagers, upon hearing the commotion, rushed to Ootaimalai where Anderson was staying. Anderson arrived, the tiger having been driven off and the two men being left unscathed.

Death of the tiger

At 07:00 two days later, Anderson, Byra, Ranga and Sowree were approached by a group of women saying that a man in their group had been taken by the tiger on the site of the first kill. Anderson and Byra entered the jungle, with Ranga and Sowree setting themselves atop two trees, should the tiger bolt. Anderson found the tiger eating the body of its victim, and shot it in the neck, paralysing it. He then finished it with a shot to the heart.

References

• The Wily Tiger of Mundachipallam, ‘’Nine Man-Eaters and one Rogue’’, Kenneth Anderson, Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1954