I may be in the minority, but I am on the side of the tiger in this heartbreaking, yet fascinating, book. The Champawat Tigress killed and ate more than 450 people in Nepal and India in the early 1900s; here, we learn how injury, colonization and habitat loss likely led to the creation of this fearsome man-eater. No Beast So Fierce is an amazing cautionary tale on how we bring about deadly consequences with our foolhardy insistence on 'civilizing' colonized lands by clearing the wild jungle and forest habitats needed by apex predators, who require vast territories to survive.

This was a gripping and informative read that had me enthralled. It detailed the expansion of the British empire into India and how that impacted the delicate balance of human habitation coexisting with the natural world. It is sad how human progress exacts a high price on the creatures that share the planet with us.

We also learn quite a lot of the background behind Jim Corbett, the man who ultimately brings down the tigress. As an Irishman who grew up in India, his life was unusual and provided him with the exceptional skill needed to face down the Champawat tigress. She was the first, but not the only man-eater he killed before his life took him to works of conservation and safeguarding these beautiful, majestic creatures. An awe-inspiring tale. I don't read a lot of nonfiction but this book was captivating in such a way as to make me yearn for more books like this.

The Champawat man-eater was supposed to have killed over 430 men, women and children in border land between India and Nepal in the early years of the 20th Century. In this book Huckelbridge looks at the tiger as an example of an apex predator and examines why tigers turn from killing their normal prey into attacking humans. The book then describes the hunt for the Champawat tiger and the aftermath of her death, a killing in which the hunter becomes a passionate environmentalist. Covering ideas about colonialism, biology, ecology and society in India, this is a fascinating read.

Wasn't quite sure what to expect going into No Beast So Fierce, but I certainly didn't come away disappointed. Huckelbridge clearly thoroughly researched the subject matter before committing pen to paper, and she writes in an informative as well as engaging style.

I feel what could have easily turned into a much more sensationalistic colonial adventure story under another author was handle with a lot more care and balance than I expected given the content matter. The book does have a distinctive melancholy feel throughout and offers no solutions to man's never-ending expansion and the tiger's continuing loss of habitat.

Overall though, I found it an educational and worthwhile read.

With thanks to Harpercollins and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review, Will post review to Goodreads and Amazon.

This was a fascinating account of the Champawat tiger (tigress! The female of the species and all that!) which killed over 400 people in turn of the century Nepal and Northern India. For a non fiction book written like a thriller, this was a surprisingly balanced account, incorporating natural history and a balanced view of the tigress, rather than merely creating a monster and setting it in a man versus wild tale. The back drop was that of the 20th Century bringing change to Northern India and it’s a feature of the book to look at how this impacted on the wild life as well. Truly mesmerising and if you didn’t already have a healthy respect for just how efficient and dangerous a tiger truly is, you will do after you read this.