No Beast So Fierce

The Terrifying True Story of the Champawat Tiger, the Deadliest Animal in History

By: Dane Huckelbridge

Narrated by: Corey Snow

Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

American Sniper meets Jaws in this gripping, true account of the deadliest animal of all time, the Champawat Tiger - responsible for killing more than 400 humans in Northern India and Nepal in the first decade of the 20th century - and the legendary hunter who finally brought it down.

At the turn of the 20th century, in the forested foothills of the Himalayas between India and Nepal, a large Bengal tiger began preying on humans. Between roughly 1900 and 1907, the fearsome beast locals called the Champawat Man-Eater claimed 436 lives. Successfully evading both hunters and soldiers from the Nepalese army and growing bolder with its kills, the tiger - commonly a nocturnal predator - prowled settlements and roadways even in broad daylight. Entire villages were virtually abandoned.

Desperate for help, authorities appealed to Jim Corbett, a then-unknown railroad employee of humble origins who had grown up hunting and tracking game through the hills of Kumaon. Like a police detective on the trail of a human killer, Corbett questioned villagers who had encountered the tiger and began tracking its movements in the dense, hilly woodlands - while the animal began to hunt Corbett in return. When the big cat attacked a teenager and dragged her away, he followed the blood trail deep into the forest - a harrowing, dramatic chase that would ultimately end the man-eater’s long reign of terror and turn the young Corbett into a living legend.

In this rip-roaring adventure and compelling natural history, Dane Huckelbridge recreates one of the great adventure stories of the 20th century, bringing into focus a principled, disciplined soldier, hunter, and conservationist - who would later earn fame for his devotion to saving the Bengal tiger and its habitat - and the beautiful, terrifying animal he patiently pursued. Written with the thrilling immediacy of John Vaillant’s The Tiger, Susan Casey’s The Devil’s Teeth, and Nate Blakeslee’s American Wolf, No Beast so Fierce is an enthralling depiction of a classic battle between man and animal, human encroachment and wild nature that resonates today.

©2019 Dane Huckelbridge (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

Excellent narration

Clear narration and logical progression that is easy to follow. Narrator did an excellent job with pronunciation of local words and conveyed the general sentiment well

Better then I expected

Not only does it detail out jim Corbett’s ordeal to hunt down the tiger , but it’s also gives a detailed look into tigers in general , very well researched , written and narrated, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the genre

Last two hours

First six hours are about how bad people are. The last two hours was the story I thought I would be listening to the whole time.

A masterpiece

I've been researching jaguars in Brazil for the past 17 years and have read many books about man-eaters. Today I finished this fantastic book. Alternating between historical reports and information from British and Hindu newspapers of the time, data on natural history and ecology of tigers, Jim Corbett's own accounts and a hint of poetic interpretation, the book is a work of art. A serious approach from an ecological point of view and, at the same time, an epic saga in all aspects.

Wild story well done

A very tragic but seriously interesting story well written so much so its hard to find a place to stop it's that good. I suggest you start this listen only when you have plenty of time you will not want to stop, Cory Snow the narrator I've listened to before and he is great for this story.

The Story of the Champawat Tiger

The Champawat Tiger, which terrorized parts of India and Nepal for the better part of a decade in the early years of the 20th Century, has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the most lethal man-eater in history, with over 400 kills. For such an exciting, richer-than-fiction historical tale, this story remains relatively unknown. Indeed, I hadn't heard the story until recently, which prompted my purchase of this book.

I wasn't disappointed. "No Beast So Fierce" gripped me from start to finish. Although I was most interested in the Champawat Tiger herself, and to a lesser extent other man-eaters of the sub-continent (there have been quite a few), I also appreciated the biographical information on the remarkable Jim Corbett, as well as on the region itself--history, industry and geography, all of which are essential contributing ingredients in the rise of man-eaters in the Indian subcontinent.

I really enjoyed this book, and plan to read further, not just about the Champawat, but also about many of her lesser-known contemporaries and metaphorical descendants.

Not a story just about the tiger

If you are looking for history in India it’s a good book. If you are looking for a story on the man eating tiger look elsewhere most of the book is dedicated to promoting environmentalism.

Nice read.

A good bit more dramatic than necessary but a nice read about a century old event.

Interesting

Knew this story so was interested in the different approach and the statistics he used. Great job. Reading was also well done.

Hell yes

It’s been awhile since I’ve enjoyed a book this much. It’s crazy how the colonialism and specific time in history really set the stage for what ultimately played out. That book was fantastic.