ENVIRONMENT: A Shotgun, a Promise of $5 and a Skinned Cat

The tiger hunter of yore was a maharajah or british aristocrat who would take potshots at roaring beasts while perched atop an elephant. Celebrated in prints and woodcuts, this blood sport looked manly but carried with it about as much risk as watching a professional football game from a skybox, since the cats wouldn't attack an elephant. Today the typical tiger killer is more like an Indian man named Raju: a diminutive, ragged farmer who does not even own a gun. Nonetheless, as a member of the Jenu Kuruba tribe, Raju knows how to hunt the big cats. In 1993 he...

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