One of the highlights of our recent trip to Nepal was being able to experience a ‘day-long safari’ in Chitwan National Park, described as ‘one of the jewels in the crown of Nepalese tourism’ by The Rough Guide to Nepal.
We stayed at the Tiger Tops Tharu Lodge, which is separated from this – one of the finest wildlife and bird havens on the Subcontinent – by the Narayani River.
We were punted across its shallow waters and spent the day encircling the park in an open-top and very ancient Land Rover.
This dense forest provides cover for predators like tigers and leopards. The vast amount of tree coverage shelters huge herds of deer, and its swampy grasslands provide a perfect environment for single-horned rhinos.
Above our heads, there are monkeys and birds galore in the tree tops. Altogether, this jungle refuge is home to 68 mammal species – many of them endangered.
Waking earlier, in our lodge, we had been greeted by a dawn chorus the likes of which l have never heard before. A symphony of song from countless birds.
It was an eventful day of rhino spotting, ticking off a whole host of bird species, and even glimpsing a wild boar.
We did not see a big cat, though our guide stopped the jeep for us to examine a tiger’s very impressive scratching post!
Neither did we see a sloth bear, though there are reckoned to be more than 200 of them sheltered amongst the foliage.
Chitwan wasn’t always a haven for wildlife conservation. It was only established as the Royal Chitwan National Park in 1973 and granted the status of a World Heritage Site.
Before that, since the end of the 19th century, this area was a favourite hunting ground for Nepal’s ruling class, in which hundreds of animals – from tigers to rhinos and elephants were slaughtered.
I had to wait until my return to Bath to see a tiger from Chitwan – and it took a bus ride to Bristol to bring us face to face.
There, in its World Wildlife Gallery, is the stuffed remains of a specimen cruelly shot in 1911 by our very own King George V.
It was one of four skins presented to provincial museums, which also included Exeter, Norwich, and Leicester.
The tally of slaughtered animals didn’t stop there. The king, according to Wikipedia, reportedly laid claim to having killed 21 tigers, 8 rhinoceros, and 1 bear.
Altogether, his entourage reportedly killed a total of 39 tigers, 18 rhinoceros, 4 bears, and several porcupines and leopards over the course of ten days.
It’s shocking to read accounts of the expedition in which elephants were used like sheep dogs to drive the game towards the waiting guns.
He wasn’t the first royal to point a gun at Chitwan. That regal connection began in 1878 when Albert Edward ( later King Edward Vll ) joined an expedition which killed 23 tigers in two weeks!
He apparently wrote home to his mother, Queen Victoria (who had just been made Empress of India) that he was so bored with the formalities of state that going on a shoot was the highlight of his visit!
The tiger at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery is displayed in the case that was specially made for it, with a diorama – showing hunters riding elephants, guns in hand – painted by local artist Stanley Lloyd, better known for illustrating Enid Blyton’s childrens’ stories!
It is a brutal museum piece – a stark relic of its time – but for me, it’s missing an explanation that places it in context.
The museum now acknowledges that its benefactor, Sir William Henry Wills, was part of a family that grew wealthy through their tobacco company. One that purchased its raw material from plantations employing enslaved people.
I would like the story of how our Chitwan tiger ended up as an exhibit in Bristol to also be honestly acknowledged.
Now, in correspondence with curators at the museum, l hear a reinterpretation of the whole collection of stuffed birds and animals IS under review.
Back in 2019, the museum staged an intervention called Extinction Voices in which black drapes were placed over the specimens to highlight a report that revealed that, worldwide, a million species were threatened with extinction.
To quote a museum webpage from 2019:
“To highlight the seriousness of the wildlife extinction crisis, we veiled Alfred the gorilla and 31 other animals in our World Wildlife gallery.
Among others, the veils covered our rhino, tiger, giraffe and chimpanzee so we could begin to comprehend a world without these extraordinary creatures. All 32 animals are threatened with high to extreme risk of extinction.”
And elsewhere on that page;
‘The histories of some of our animals were told for the first time, including our tiger, which was shot by King George V in Nepal, 1911. This glimpse of the past is vital to understanding what is happening today.’
The museum said they were also responding to many children who had written in asking them to tell the true story of their tiger.
I have been corresponding today with Isla Gladstone, who is the Senior Curator for Natural Sciences at Bristol Museum.
She told me:
“We agree the tiger needs to be relabelled, along with the wider gallery. We have been working behind the scenes on this, to set the foundations for our future approach, in a project called Extinction Silences, which has just been completed: Bristol Museum Extinction Silences — Rising Arts Agency
We have just secured some funding towards new labelling, so this will change over the next year to create transparency and conversation with visitors.
It is not quick enough, partly due to the time we wanted to take to consult with communities most affected by colonial legacies, and partly due to an over-stretched team.”
I am so pleased this is a ‘matter in hand’ and appreciate how everything depends on funding and staff resources.
Over the years, it’s not the first time l have gazed at that tiger in Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, but now, having been to its homeland, and connected that jungle with one creature so cruelly taken from it, the whole display takes on new meaning.
I hope that when this gallery IS allowed to tell its story to the challenged world of today, it will be brought out of the shadows and used to encourage future generations. That tiger, maybe, did not then die in vain.
In my opinion, our royal family should apologise for the actions of its recent ancestors. How can there be such concern for the perils of our dwindling wildlife when – not long ago – kings were posing with dead tigers.
Put down your guns – and that goes for slaughtering game birds too!
Richard – this is a very enlightening article and thank you for publishing the wealth of information therein. I am quite puzzled about your assertion that the present royal family should apologise for their forbearer’s actions though. Am not sure how an apology for something beyond their control can be made…… However, they could make it known that were they in such a position these days, with the knowledge we have these days, that they would in no way repeat the exercise.
Well said!
Well said Richard. It’s a pity these things take so long. Presume the museum has too many boxes to tick.