1911 hunt by George V in Nepal

Hunting trip September 2020 George V's 1911 hunting trip in Nepal His Imperial Majesty's shoot in Nepalese Terai, December 1911 2 (restoration).png The crew who participated in the hunt 1911 12 18 1911 12 28 y Thori, Nepal Hunting George V and others 39 tigers, 18 rhinoceros, 4 bears, and several porcupines and leopards Over 18–28 December 1911, King George V of the United Kingdom took part in a hunt in the Kingdom of Nepal as part of an expedition organised by the Prime Minister of Nepal, Chandra Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana. The king had wanted to visit Nepal in 1905 but due to the ongoing cholera pandemic, he could not enter the region. The crew killed 39 tigers, 18 rhinoceros, 4 bears, and several porcupines and leopards over the course of the 10-day expedition. During the hunt, the king knighted Chandra Shumsher with the Royal Victorian Order. Planning The British royals started to hunt in Nepal in 1876 after Nepali Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana invited Albert Edward (later King Edward VII) to an expedition which killed about 23 tigers in two weeks. Later many foreign dignitaries were invited by the Rana dynasty, including Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, and Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale.Using 'Shikar Diplomacy' in 19th-Century Nepal https://thewire.in/external-affairs/shikar-diplomacy-nepal-british 6 August 2020 The Wire 6 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200806174025/https://thewire.in/external-affairs/shikar-diplomacy-nepal-british live In 1905, Prince George, the future George V, King of the United Kingdom, wanted to visit the Kingdom of Nepal for a hunt but due to the ongoing 1899–1923 cholera pandemic he could not.Regmi Ganga Ram https://books.google.com/books?id=gUnhDwAAQBAJ&q=King+George+V Hindu Kush-Himalaya Watersheds Downhill 2020 Springer Nature 978-3-030-36275-1 en 6 August 2020 6 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200806154703/https://books.google.com/books?id=gUnhDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=King%20George%20V&f=false live In 1911, Prime Minister of Nepal Chandra Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana invited George V to participate in big game hunting in Terai.Arbuckle Alex 1911: The British royal family visited India and hunted tigers https://mashable.com/2015/11/21/british-royal-visit-india/ 6 August 2020 Mashable 21 November 2015 en 21 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200821105432/https://mashable.com/2015/11/21/british-royal-visit-india/ live Preparing for the hunt, Chandra Shumsher spent months collecting 645 elephants and bullocks and tied them in jungles to lure the tigers. The King of Nepal Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah died on 11 December but the preparations did not stop.Rookmaaker Kees Nelson Barbara Dorrington Darrell 2005 The royal hunt of tiger and rhinoceros in the Nepalese terai in 1911 https://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/pdf_files/117/1175857652.pdf live https://web.archive.org/web/20160318182409/http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/pdf_files/117/1175857652.pdf 18 March 2016 4 August 2001 Rhino Resource Center Thousands of elephant beaters were employed "to drive the game toward his waiting guns".Vries Manfred F. R. Kets de https://books.google.com/books?id=8r_rAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 Talking to the Shaman Within 16 June 2014 iUniverse 978-1-4917-3034-8 en 6 August 2020 21 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200821105454/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=8r_rAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 live About this event, George V told Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst: "As probably this will be the last and only time in my life when I shall get big game shooting of this kind, I naturally want to have as many days in Nepal as possible".The royal hunt in Nepal https://edit.elte.hu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10831/38396/02_KloskaT_33-44.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y live https://web.archive.org/web/20200821105312/https://edit.elte.hu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10831/38396/02_KloskaT_33-44.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y 21 August 2020 4 August 2020 ELTE Digital Institutional Repository The Terai region of Nepal was protected from hunting's by rulers of Nepal but since 1846 it was allowed if the person obtained a permit from Maharajah or the Prime Minister.Rookmaaker Kees July–December 2004 Fragments on the history of the rhinoceros in Nepal http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/pdf_files/117/1175860209.pdf Pachyderm 37 73–79 10.69649/pachyderm.v37i1.1204 Rhino Resource Center A few specimens from Nepal were shown in international museums such as The Royal College of Surgeons of England, and Indian Museum, Kolkata. thumb|500px|The large encampment built for the occasion|alt=|centre The hunt thumb|Prime Minister of Nepal Chandra Shumsher Rana and King George V with a shot tiger|alt=|left|274px After attending the Delhi Durbar, George V and Queen Mary travelled via boat and train from Patna and Bankipore to Bhikhna Thori railway station on 16 December. They arrived in Nepal at 10 am on Monday, 18 December, where the king was greeted by Chandra Shumsher. George then travelled from Bhikhna Thori railway station by car to Thori, Nepal.Shrestha Bimala https://books.google.com/books?id=40huAAAAMAAJ&q=George+V+1911+hunt+nepal Social Life in Nepal, 1885–1950 1997 Vani Prakashan Co-operative Limited en 6 August 2020 4 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200804074255/https://books.google.com/books?id=40huAAAAMAAJ&q=George+V+1911+hunt+nepal livehttps://books.google.com/books?id=FG5mAAAAMAAJ&q=George+V+1911+hunt+nepal Source Manual Series: His Majesty's Government, Ministry of Defence, Royal Nepal Army Headquarters and His Majesty's Government, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Record Section) 1988 Committee, Department of Arch[a]eology en 6 August 2020 4 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200804074348/https://books.google.com/books?id=FG5mAAAAMAAJ&q=George+V+1911+hunt+nepal live There was a large encampment for the king and his 12,000 followers, and there were roughly 2,000 attendees. During the hunt, every night baits were placed to lure tigers. On Tuesday, 19 December, information about a tiger went out so the team visited the place and the king killed the animal. Later that afternoon, one tiger and two rhinoceros were killed by Charles Cust, Colin Keppel, and Horace Smith-Dorrien respectively. On Wednesday, 20 December, three separate groups went to look for tigers (two) and rhinoceros (one). The same day, the king killed a female tiger, and the hunters disturbed a rhino cow and calf, that charged at the elephants. After lunch, it was found that the next ring of elephants contained four tigers "roaring and snarling in a blood-curdling chorus, the tigers charged madly from side to side while the surrounding elephants trampled and trumpeted and the mahouts screamed and shouted". The king killed all four tigers. While the group was returning to camp, a big rhinoceros appeared suddenly out of a bush and the king killed it with two bullets. The same day, a bear was shot by Captain Bryan Godfrey-Faussett and Smith-Dorrien, and Faussett and Keppel both killed a tiger. On Thursday, 21 December, George V killed four tigers and a bear, and a rhinoceros was shot by Faussett. The next day, the king killed three tigers in the field. A rhinoceros ran from the grass and was shot by Charles Cust; the king missed it but it was killed by Faussett. Lord Durham, Lord Charles Fitzmaurice, Derek Keppel, Colin Keppel, and Henry McMahon killed seven tigers and a Himalayan bear. On Saturday, the team moved to Kasra and on Sunday, 24 December, Rev. J. Godber led a divine service for Christmas Eve. Later that afternoon, the king went to inspect animal collections from Nepal with Kaiser Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana. George V saw various animals including a young elephant, a rhinoceros calf, and a wild ass which were sent to the zoo in London, and various Nepali arts were shown as well which are now housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum. In the evening, the king knighted Chandra Shumsher with the Royal Victorian Order. thumb|The rhino that was given to George V|293pxOn Monday, 25 December, George V shot a 9 ft 6 in m on tiger and then killed two rhinos. The group led by the Duke of Teck killed three tigers and a rhinoceros. The hunting area had been disturbed because out of 60 baits only one tiger was trapped and was killed by Lord Durham, and the king shot one rhinoceros the same day. During the last days of the hunts, on Wednesday, the king killed one female tiger which was his 20th kill. Thursday, 28 December, was the last day of the hunt; that day the king and the Duke of Teck shot a tiger at the same time. The crew travelled by car to Bhikhna Thori railway station where a train was waiting for them; while going to the station, the king killed his 21st tiger. The team reportedly killed a total of 39 tigers, 18 rhinoceros, 4 bears, and several porcupines and leopards over the course of ten days. George V reportedly laid claim to having killed 21 tigers, 8 rhinoceros, and 1 bear.The history of royal hunts in Nepal's southern plains is simply barbaric 8 June 2018 https://english.onlinekhabar.com/the-history-of-royal-hunts-in-nepals-southern-plains-is-simply-barbaric.html 6 August 2020 OnlineKhabar en-GB 6 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200806150230/https://english.onlinekhabar.com/the-history-of-royal-hunts-in-nepals-southern-plains-is-simply-barbaric.html live29 July 2015 Big game hunting in yesteryear, in pictures en-GB The Daily Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/11770293/Big-game-hunting-in-yesteryear-in-pictures.html?frame=3391098 dead 4 August 2020 0307-1235 25 June 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200625201635/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/11770293/Big-game-hunting-in-yesteryear-in-pictures.html?frame=339109810 March 1961 Nepal: Hapless Hunting en-US Time http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,826926,00.html 6 August 2020 0040-781X 6 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200806151120/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,826926,00.html live It is not known how all the trophies were distributed but four of the tiger skins were given to national museums across the United Kingdom – London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Dublin – and four to provincial museums – Exeter, Norwich, Leicester, and Bristol.Tiger https://rammcollections.org.uk/object/88-2000/ Royal Albert Memorial Museum Exeter 1 September 2020 1 September 2020 1 September 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200901133817/https://rammcollections.org.uk/object/88-2000/ dead A living rhinoceros was given to the king on 24 December; it was kept in the Zoological Garden, Alipore, then on 1 April 1912 it was moved to the Zoological Gardens in London. British diplomat and naturalist Brian Houghton Hodgson documented over 560 species of birds (with 9,500 specimens), 900 mammals, and 80 reptiles.Lim Francis Khek Gee https://books.google.com/books?id=BFtX2S-wTOQC&q=George+V+hunting+trip+in+Nepal&pg=PA118 Imagining the Good Life: Negotiating Culture and Development in Nepal Himalaya 2008 BRILL 978-90-04-16787-2 en Notable attendees + List of notable people who attended the huntNameNote(s)Ref(s) Reference(s)George VMary of TeckChandra Shumsher Jang Bahadur RanaKaiser Shumsher Jang Bahadur RanaBryan Godfrey-FaussettColin KeppelLord DurhamLord Charles FitzmauriceDerek KeppelHenry McMahonThe Duke of Teck Legacy A record, and I think will be hard to beat. King George V Sanjib Chaudhary, writing in 2018 for Online Khabar, noted that it was "the most barbaric and horrific hunting trip". In 2015, Sankarshan Thakur reported that the hunting lodge built for the occasion was now being used as "an abandoned gambling den". The photographs taken during the hunt are reportedly valued at £2,000.Kleiderman Alex 28 October 2015 Tax credit vote fall-out and IDs for sale en-GB BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-the-papers-34654441 6 August 2020 1 November 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151101011814/http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-the-papers-34654441 live Where most of the hunt took place was turned into the first national park in Nepal Chitwan National Park in 1973.Chitwan National Park https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/284/ 2 September 2020 UNESCO World Heritage Centre en In 1922, George V's son Edward, Prince of Wales, went to Nepal to hunt. There he killed his first rhinoceros and tiger.29 July 2015 Big game hunting in yesteryear, in pictures en-GB The Daily Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/11770293/Big-game-hunting-in-yesteryear-in-pictures.html?frame=3391036 dead 6 August 2020 0307-1235 6 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200806174732/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/11770293/Big-game-hunting-in-yesteryear-in-pictures.html?frame=3391036Davis Carol C. https://books.google.com/books?id=tLWQDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA20 The Theatre of Nepal and the People Who Make It: Urban History, Rural Forms 23 May 2019 Cambridge University Press 978-1-108-49761-9 en 19 August 2020 21 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200821105433/https://books.google.com/books?id=tLWQDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA20 liveRRC: The Prince of Wales in a tiger hunt http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/index.php?s=1&act=pdfviewer&id=1589223527&folder=158 6 August 2020 rhinoresourcecenter.com 6 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200806182659/http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/index.php?s=1&act=pdfviewer&id=1589223527&folder=158 live The prince was presented with many animals and birds, including baby elephant, tiger and rhino calf which were kept at the Victoria Gardens, Bombay, then moved to the London Zoo. References External links Nepal Category:History of hunting Category:George V Category:Mary of Teck Category:1911 in Nepal Category:Hunting in Nepal Category:Nepal–United Kingdom relations