🚨🇮🇳🇬🇧 DARK LEGACY OF COLONIAL BLOODSPORT: INDIA’S BIG CATS NEARLY WIPED OUT FOR SPORT
Tigers, lions, cheetahs — majestic predators nearly VANISHED under British rule.
On International Tiger Day, let’s expose the UNTOLD TALE 🧵👇
Tigers, lions, cheetahs — majestic predators nearly VANISHED under British rule.
On International Tiger Day, let’s expose the UNTOLD TALE 🧵👇
🏹HUNTED FOR GLORY
In British India, hunting tigers wasn’t about survival.
It was about THRILL. A tiger’s head on the wall was a symbol of status.
Officers competed. Princes obliged. The jungle? Reduced to a trophy cabinet.
2/10
In British India, hunting tigers wasn’t about survival.
It was about THRILL. A tiger’s head on the wall was a symbol of status.
Officers competed. Princes obliged. The jungle? Reduced to a trophy cabinet.
2/10
👑 ROYAL BLOODSPORT
Curzon, Lytton, George V—all joined the bloodlust.
Massive hunting parties wiped out dozens of tigers in days.
Big cat heads shipped to Britain as imperial souvenirs.
3/10
Curzon, Lytton, George V—all joined the bloodlust.
Massive hunting parties wiped out dozens of tigers in days.
Big cat heads shipped to Britain as imperial souvenirs.
3/10
📸 CAMERA KILLS
Photos of British officers atop slain big cats weren’t just souvenirs - they were propaganda.
Each image screamed: 'We rule this land—and its wild too.'
4/10
Photos of British officers atop slain big cats weren’t just souvenirs - they were propaganda.
Each image screamed: 'We rule this land—and its wild too.'
4/10
🌱ECOLOGICAL CARNAGE
• Prey animals surged unchecked
• Forests lost balance
• Indigenous hunting criminalised
Colonial elites posed with corpses, as ecosystems collapsed.
5/10
• Prey animals surged unchecked
• Forests lost balance
• Indigenous hunting criminalised
Colonial elites posed with corpses, as ecosystems collapsed.
5/10
🐅TIGER EXTINCTION BY EMPIRE
From 1875–1925, over 80,000 tigers were killed.
In 1870, India had ~40,000 tigers. By 1947? Fewer than 2,000.
A century of slaughter wiped out the largest tiger population on Earth.
6/10
From 1875–1925, over 80,000 tigers were killed.
In 1870, India had ~40,000 tigers. By 1947? Fewer than 2,000.
A century of slaughter wiped out the largest tiger population on Earth.
6/10
⚡️CHEETAHS ERASED
Once roaming India's plains, the Asiatic cheetah was extinct by the 1950s.
Colonial hunting + habitat destruction = the fastest animal wiped off the map.
7/10
Once roaming India's plains, the Asiatic cheetah was extinct by the 1950s.
Colonial hunting + habitat destruction = the fastest animal wiped off the map.
7/10
🦁 LIONS, NEARLY LOST
India's Asiatic lions once roamed far beyond Gujarat.
Colonial hunts decimated their numbers by 90%.
Only a few survived, ironically saved by the Nawab of Junagadh — an Indian prince who banned lion hunting.
8/10
India's Asiatic lions once roamed far beyond Gujarat.
Colonial hunts decimated their numbers by 90%.
Only a few survived, ironically saved by the Nawab of Junagadh — an Indian prince who banned lion hunting.
8/10
⚔️ ECOLOGICAL APARTHEID
To the British, wild animals symbolised chaos—something to control or destroy.
Forest laws criminalised native hunting, but the elite were exempt.
9/10
To the British, wild animals symbolised chaos—something to control or destroy.
Forest laws criminalised native hunting, but the elite were exempt.
9/10
💔 THE WOUND STILL BLEEDS
India’s wildlife still feels the scars:
• Cheetahs are being reintroduced
• Tiger numbers teeter due to habitat loss
• Leopard conflict is rising
Colonial bloodsport didn’t just disappear—it still haunts India's forests.
10/10
India’s wildlife still feels the scars:
• Cheetahs are being reintroduced
• Tiger numbers teeter due to habitat loss
• Leopard conflict is rising
Colonial bloodsport didn’t just disappear—it still haunts India's forests.
10/10
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