The Lonely Tiger

‘The Lonely Tigeris essential reading for those who love the wilderness.’ -Valmik Thapar ‘[…] I saw that he was staring intently at a leaf blowing over the surface and drifting towards him. When it came within reach he started to dab at it with his right front pawbut with a touch so gentle that his pad was the merest caress on the tiny tip of its curled-up sail. From that momentI always called him the Lonely Tiger. After being discharged from the British Armed Forces at the end of the Second World WarHugh Allen-and his widowed sister Babs-decided on impulse to settle down on an estate in Mandikheraan obscure village in central Indiahoping to live the quiet life of a farmer. But even as his crops flourishedthey suffered the attentions of the hungry denizens of the surrounding forest. Allen was thus compelled to take up arms to defend his crops andoccasionallythe villagers of Mandikhera The Lonely Tiger recounts Allen’s encounters with animals of all kinds: snappish tigers in heata woundedangry leoparda surlymurderous boarchatteringhelpful monkeysan enraged shebear protecting her cubsand a melancholy tiger that has lost his family to poachers. Hugh Allen narrates his adventures in sparetaut and thrilling prose which brings the jungle-and the hunt-to pulsating life. And while The Lonely Tigris one of the best shikar books to have been ever writtenit is also one of the earliest appeals to conserve India’s rapidly vanishing wildlife. Appearing in print after a hiatus of more than half a centuryThe Lonely Tigris a must read. Interesting facts With a foreword by author and publisher David DavidarThe Lonely Tigeris a treasure house of thrilling encounters that the author had with wildlife in the very heart of India. Back in print after many yearsthis is a beautiful hardback edition of one of the best books to have been written about the Indian tiger. Narrated in Allen’s taut yet lyrical proseThe Lonely Tigeris a must-read for all those interested in India’s fauna. As one of the earliest books to appeal for the conservation of India’s rich and varied wildlifeThe Lonely Tiger has great relevance in today’s age of animals being poached and endangered.