- Kenneth Anderson (writer)
Infobox Writer
name = Kenneth Anderson
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caption = Kenneth Anderson and hispariah dog Nipper, whom he adopted during his hunt for theLeopard of Gummalapur
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birthdate = 1910
birthplace =Bangalore ,India
deathdate = 1974
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nationality =India n
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subject =Wildlife ,big game hunting ,Southern India
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website =Kenneth Anderson (1910-1974) was an
India nwriter andhunter who wrote many books about his adventures in the jungles ofSouth India .Background
Kenneth Anderson hailed from a Scottish family settled in India for six generations. His father was superintendent of the F.C.M.A. in Poona and dealt with the salaries paid to military personnel, having an honorary rank of captain. His father also had a rifle and often hunted for waterfowl. Even though his father was not a hunter of man eating carnivores, he was the person who had the most influence on Anderson's decision to become a professional hunter.
chooling and Early Career
Kenneth Anderson did his schooling in
Bishop Cotton School Bangalore and then at St Joseph's College. He worked for many years at thepost office and during the war at the Hindustan Aircraft Factory as a superintendent in the blueprint and planning department. He lived in a bungalow not far from Queen Victoria's statue at the head of the South Promenade (called Mahatma Gandhi Road today) and also owned some land near Bannerghatta, today a suburb of Bangalore.Career as a Hunter
His love for the inhabitants of the Indian
jungle led him tobig game hunting and eventually to writing real-life adventure stories. He would often go into the jungle alone and unarmed to meditate and enjoy the beauty of untouchednature . As a professional hunter, he searched out man-eating big game to eliminate the threat they posed to villages. Some of his most notable kills include theSloth bear of Mysore , theLeopard of Gummalapur , theLeopard of the Yellagiri Hills , theTigress of Jowlagiri , theTiger of Segur and theTiger of Mundachipallam .Hobbies
His books are hailed as classics of jungle lore. His style of writing is unassuming, descriptive and engaging as he talks about his adventures with many wild animals. While most stories are about hunting
tiger s and panthers (orleopard s) - particularly those that were man-eaters - he also includes chapters on his first-hand encounters with dangerouselephant s,bison , andbear s. There are also stories about the less 'popular' creatures like Indian wild dogs, hyenas, andsnake s. He takes pains to explain the habits and personalities of these animals.Anderson also gives valuable insights into the people of the Indian jungles of his time, with their lush green woods teeming with wildlife and local inhabitants having to contend with poor quality roads, communication and health facilities. His books delve into the habits of the jungle
tribe s, theirsurvival tactics, and their day-to-day lives.Besides focusing on Indian wildlife, he also explores the subject of the occult and writes about his live experiences with unusual phenomena (for which he has no explanation). He helped save the jungle dwelling tribes from the horrors of man-eaters in many villages in the south Indian states. He also was well versed in speaking
Kannada , the language of his home town Bangalore, and also spoke Tamil, the language spoken in the neighboring states to some extent. He had aStudebaker car and usually used a .405Winchester rifle for hunting. Despite his reputation as a hunter, he was a pioneer of wildlife conservation in southern India, and spent his later years "shooting" with a camera.Books
Anderson's books are fairly popular, and recently two omnibuses of his work have been published. The following is a list of the books written by him:
* "Nine Maneaters And One Rogue" (1954)
* "The Black Panther of Sivanipalli and Other Adventures of the Indian Jungle" (1959)
* "Jungles Long Ago
* "Man Eaters and Jungle Killers
* "Tiger Roars
* "Tales from the Indian Jungle
* "This is the Jungle
* "The Call of the Man EaterIn addition to the themes of adventure and survival, Anderson also expounds on his love for India, its people, and its jungles. He was a firm believer in the power of
alternative medicine and always carried a box containing various kinds of natural herbs from the jungle with him. Anderson died ofcancer at the age of 64.External links
* [http://www.archive.org/details/ninemaneatersand001389mbp Nine man-eaters and one rogue 1955]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/blackpantherofsi017654mbp The Black Panther Of Sivanipalli 1959]
* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kennethanderson/ Yahoo Group] (yahoo group dedicated to Kenneth Anderson)
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