The Boy and the Elephant Chess

Inspirations & fun facts part 2

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7) "You are here to speak to the tiger?!" exclaimed the monk, "The heavens go with you, for he has longed to destroy us ever since we cut down some of his trees for our homes. Each night he steals away one of our children, to swap for balls of minced pork. Our windows and doors are useless against his strength. One day he might carry them off forever! That old tiger longs to run us out of our new town, I'm sure." ..

.."The tiger rumbled...But when this town sprouted up, the deer went far from here in their dozens, and I am too old to follow them. And almost three weeks ago, one of my fangs turned rotten. Now only tender, boneless meat will do."

Now this is drawn more from incidents in India, Nepal and Southeast Asia, not so much China, at least not that I know of. Tiger (and leopard) attacks on humans usually occur when human populations overlap with their territories and reduce their habitats. This is a children's story though, so I made it more.. ah, PG.

But yes, all these occurrences that the tiger mentions - old age, fewer natural prey and some injury, even dental problems - often lead to these carnivores entering villages to feed on people because they are easier hunts. Look up the case of the Champawat Tigress, who ranged all over Nepal, and then the Champawat district in the North Indian state of Uttarakhand. Of all the man-eater cases, I believe hers had to have the highest kill count of 436.

I personally feel this isn't necessarily caused by some crime of humanity (unlike pollution, for example), because often the very victims of these attacks are just ordinary people in a village who might not be in the position to live anywhere else. Populations just.. naturally grow. And at the end of the day, lives have to be protected. It's definitely a terrifying and sad matter though, for humans and tigers alike. But I think we as a society and inhabitants of this planet ought to challenge unnecessary habitat destruction and over logging. Those issues make things worse.

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7) "Finally, the tiger came to a stop in the last wisps of morning mists. The boy stared in awe at the lush valley rolling away before him. A lake wide as the eye can see shimmered beneath the sky, and beside it grouped black hornbills, and peacocks of jeweled feathers. Under the foothills all about, leafy-fronded trees heavy with bananas fanned around huddles of deep green mango trees..

..As they went along, the boy peered here and there. Families of gibbons sat enjoying fruits under every tree. "New friend, new friend," they cooed at him as he passed, and lizards peeked over leaves to glimpse him, while red furred bats hung from branches and waved their tiny claws. The air was sweet with harmony. But there was something missing..

..The boy and his guide left the trees into an orchard of golden pineapples, fat with juice and ripe meat. Glittering butterflies hovered over them. Everywhere hung the choral notes of "New friend, new friend," But there was something missing."

Pronunciation for those who understand phonetics(pinyin): Xīshuāngbǎnnà
For those who don't:'See Shoe-ang banh naa!' (helps to raise your voice when you say na, but also drag it a bit)

So as I said earlier, Xishuangbanna is a real place, a prefecture in the province of Yunnan, bordering Myanmar and Laos, so this is true - 'Out amongst the hills far to the south'. Mainlander Chinese who might know more may correct me, but I believe it's best known for being a nature reserve with a tropical climate that houses a lot of Yunnan's and China's biodiversity. There are other parts and locations that make up the community there, so if you're curious, I suggest you look it up! All the pictures I have seen show a gorgeous, magnificent landscape, and I want to visit it some day.