Hunter-Habib
AH legend
Yusuf With His Greener Shotgun, Mannlicher Schoenauer Rifle & Trophies (1928).
Today marks the 25th death anniversary of my predecessor & mentor, IGF (Inspector General Of Forests) Yusuf Salauddin Ahmad. And today, I want to pay tribute to this great sportsman, conservationist & forester. A gentleman who can very justifiably be called "The Father Of WIldlife Management In Pakistan". I already wrote a little bit about him in my 2024 autobiography "Baagh Shikari: The Last Tiger Hunter", so those of you who have read my book... may already be familiar with his name.
Yusuf was born on January 3rd, 1900 in what is now Mymensingh, Bangladesh (then a province of British Colonial India; specifically British Bengal). He is one of the students to have graduated from the first batch of Dacca University (Batch 1922) when it was established (obtaining a degree in Chemistry). Interestingly, Dacca University used to be internationally referred to as "The Oxford Of The East" back in those days. Then, he spent 3 years in Great Britain studying at the University Of London (which used to hold training courses back in those days for students that intended to pursue a career in the British Imperial Forest Service for any rank above Ranger).
On January 1926, Yusuf was first posted in Jalpaiguri in what is now modern day West Bengal, India) as a DFO (Divisional Forest Officer). This made him the first Muslim DFO to ever be appointed by the British Imperial Forest Service. After 15 months duty in Jalpaiguri, he was posted in the Sundarbans mangrove forests (in what is now modern day Bangladesh) from April 1927 to 1930. From 1930 to 1933, he was posted in Chittagong (in modern day Bangladesh) and Cox's Bazar (in modern day Bangladesh) from 1933 to 1936. From 1936 to 1939, he was posted in Mymensingh (his home district). And from 1939 to 1942, he was posted in Buxa (modern day West Bengal, India). From 1943 to June 21st, 1946... he lived in Darjeeling (modern day West Bengal, India) and tended to the failing health of his dear wife Mahfida (who was diagnosed with lung cancer). After her tragic passing, he desperately needed a distraction in order to keep himself from sulking in grief. He was posted in the Sundarban mangrove forests once more for a year in 1947 (the British Imperial Forest Service had not been able to carry out any organized work there during the entirety of World War II). After the India-Pakistan Partition in 1947, he was given an option to either choose India or Pakistan as his nationality. He chose Pakistan and consequently became the first Inspector General Of Forests for both West Pakistan (modern day Pakistan) and East Pakistan (modern day Bangladesh) until his retirement in August, 1959.
Graduates From The 1967 Batch Of Principles Of Forestry In The Pakistani Forest Institute At The University Of Peshawar (1970). The Author Is Standing, Third From The Left In The Second Row. Yusuf Is Dressed In The Three Piece Suit.
After his retirement, he became one of the founders of the "Principles Of Forestry" subject at the University Of Peshawar (where he was frequently called upon a a guest lecturer & module assessor). This would be where I first met him as a student in 1967 and developed a lifelong friendship with him. After Bangladesh became independent during the Indo-Pak war 1971, Yusuf opted to settle down in Karachi, Pakistan (with his daughter Rezia and her family). He visited Bangladesh regularly at least once every three years until he peacefully passed away in his sleep on October 23rd, 2000 (just two months away from his 101st birthday).
Yusuf (On Top Of Far Right Elephant Howdah) With A Tigress He Shot During A Beat In Buxa (1940).
Throughout his life, Yusuf was an extremely passionate hunter. And it was my interactions with him at the University of Peshawar (from 1967 to 1970) which inspired me to find my calling in big game hunting. In 1926 (shortly upon joining the British Imperial Forest Service), he obtained a brand new 12 gauge 3' Magnum W.W Greener boxlock ejector Empire shotgun with 32" fully choked barrels from Manton & Co. in Calcutta. He used paper cased Eley Grand Prix cartridges in this. He obtained a rifle license the following year (being one of only two native Forest officers in British Bengal to do so) and purchased a 9x56mm Mannlicher Schoenauer from Manton & Co. He used Kynoch cartridges in this, but only one type of loading was available for this caliber back in those day- A 245Gr round nosed cupronickel jacketed FMJ solid traveling at 2100 FPS. Though Yusuf successfully hunted Axis deer with this rifle (taking care to only opt for neck shots), he found the ballistic performance of the cartridges to be a little too anaemic. So in 1939, he sold it & purchased a beautiful William Evans boxlock ejector double rifle chambered in .450/400 Nitro Express (3.25"). He used Kynoch cartridges in this- 400Gr cupronickel jacketed soft points & round nosed FMJ solids traveling at 2150 FPS. He retained this rifle and his W.W. Greener shotgun throughout his entire life (and they are now owned by his maternal grandson Shahed). Being very much a product of his times, he always considered English firearms to be the best in the entire world (although he had immense fascination in all makes & models of sporting firearms).
While wing shooting has always been popular in our part of the world, big game hunting was mostly enjoyed by two kinds of people back in those days:
i) People living in localities outlying forest ranges where big game was typically found.
ii) Employees of the British Imperial Forest Service who were stationed in areas inhabitated by big game.
Being part of the latter group, Yusuf was able to bag a sizeable amount of big game in whichever forest range he was stationed to administrate over.
During his posting in Jalpaiguri, he bagged a large Sambar stag during a beat in 1926 (using his Greener shotgun and an Eley Grand Prix LG cartridge).
During his first posting in the Sundarbans, he bagged numerous Axis stags for camp rations (some from tree top ambushes, some via on-foot stalking stalking & some from dinghy boats when the herds came to feed at the canal mouths); taking care to have the best heads mounted (using his 9x56mm Mannlicher Shoenauer). He also bagged 2 Royal Bengal tigers in self defense during random encounters on forest inspection duties (one in 1927 with a .425 Nitro Express Westley Richards magazine rifle borrowed from his eldest uncle & one in 1929 with a muzzle loading shotgun borrowed from a local hunter). In 1930 (right before the completion of his posting), he was able to bag the largest saltwater crocodile ever to be recorded in the sundarbans (measuring 18 feet 7 inches from snout to tail) during a chance encounter from the navigation deck of the British Imperial Forest Service's Launch S.L Harrier (using a .475 Nitro Express Westley Richards droplock ejector double rifle borrowed from his brother, J. Ahmad who was Additional Chief Presidency Magistrate in Calcutta at the time). The hide of the crocodile was tanned and stuffed by the famed Van Ingen taxidermists in India and was donated to the Darjeeling Museum in West Bengal, India (where it can still be seen to this date).
During his posting in Cox's Bazar, he was able to bag countless crop raiding muntjac stags with his shotgun. In 1930, he was able to bag a 7 feet 2 inch male leopard with his shotgun from a macchan when it had returned to feed upon a village pony which it had previously killed.
Perhaps he bagged the most trophies in his life during his posting in Buxa. During this time, he bagged:
Four central Indian tigers (all shot with his .450/400 Nitro Express)- One tigress from an elephant howdah during a beat, one male from a macchan during a beat, one tigress from a macchan when it returned to feed upon a cow which it had previously killed, one male from a macchan when it returned to feed upon a cow which it had previously killed.
One male leopard (measuring 8 feet from snout to tail)- Shot from a macchan in 1940 with his shotgun, when it returned to feed upon a cow which it had previously killed.
One sambar stag- Shot during a beat with his .450/400 Nitro Express.
One hog deer stag- Shot during a beat with his shotgun
During his second posting to administrate over the Sundarbans, he bagged his final big game in that region during a tour of inspection. From the deck of the SL Harrier, he was (during two chance encounters on two consecutive days) able to bag a male Royal Bengal tiger while it came to drink water at the river bank and also a male saltwater crocodile which was basking on the river bank (both of these were bagged with his .450/400 Nitro Express).
In 1948 (while overseeing an elephant catching Khedda operation as IGF in Kaptai in what is now modern day Bangladesh), he was able to bag two rogue male Asiatic jungle elephants in self defense when they attacked him & his men (elephant hunting had already been long prohibited in India since 1873). Both of these were taken with frontal brain shots from his .450/400 Nitro Express (making him the only person to have legally shot elephants in South Bengal). This was also the last time in his life that he hunted any big game, although he remained an avid wing shooter (particularly of red jungle fowl, doves, pheasants & snipe) all throughout his life. As a matter of fact, just a week before his death... he was able to enjoy a lovely driven hunt for black pheasants in Sindh.
Yusuf (Right) With His Daughter, Grandson & Some Of His Trophies (1977).
In 1954, American Ambassador-To-Pakistan Mr. Horace Hildreth (himself an avid sportsman) befriended Yusuf and voiced his desire to bag a leopard in East Pakistan. Yusuf arranged a leopard hunt for him in Sylhet, on the tea plantation of the Zamindar of Prithimpasha. Several cows were tied as bait and one was killed by a male leopard on the very first day. Yusuf personally held the 5 cell torchlight, while Ambassador Hildreth shot the leopard when it returned to feed upon the dead cow. The Ambassador was armed with a fully choked 12 gauge (2.75'') Remington Model 11 semi automatic shotgun loaded with Remington Klean Bore Extra Long Range 9 pellet 00 Buckshot shells. The ambassador fired all five cartridges into the leopard's chest in excitement, which later made the taxidermy job on the hide a little difficult (although eventually a full body mount of the 6 feet 10 inch leopard was crafted). The government of Pakistan gifted Ambassador Hildreth a live calf elephant during the end of his tenure. ANd this elephant calf was later featured prominently during the presidential election campaign of General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The Author (Far Right) With Yusuf (Centre) At The Sundarbans Department Of Forests Head Office (1988)
Hunting adventures aside, Yusuf was revolutionary in his administrative policies as a forest officer. During the days of the British Imperial Forest Service, forest guards were issued 12 gauge single barreled or double barreled shotguns along with Eley Grand Prix spherical ball cartridges. Usage of service ammunition was strictly rationed. If a forest guard discharged his service weapon in the line of duty at a criminal (such as a pirate, a poacher, a human trafficker or a timber thief), then he was ordered to bring back the empty cartridge casing along with the severed right ear of the dead criminal and present them to the station officer. In 1958, Yusuf (as IGF of Pakistan) replaced the 12 gauge shotgun with army surplus .303 British Lee Enfield rifles (supplied with Pakistan Ordinance Factories 174Gr copper jacketed FMJ military ball) for all the patrol teams of the Department of Forests. When I became DFO of the Sundarban mangrove forests in 1980 during my first term, I later had these changed to army surplus 7.62x51mm NATO Indian Ordinance Factories SLR semi automatic rifles (supplied with Indian Ordinance Factories 147Gr copper jacketed FMJ military ball).
I will give one more example of Yusuf's extreme competence in the field of forestry. From 1927 to 1930 (during his first posting as DFO of the Sundarbans mangrove forests), he was heavily involved in stock mapping and enumeration of trees within the region. His surveys were so accurate, that when I first became DFO of that territory in 1980 (50 years later) and conducted my own surveys... I quickly observed that that all of Yusuf's figures were still pin point accurate (within an allowance of 5% more or less).
When I was on the hunt for the notorious man eating Royal Bengal tiger of Mohesshoripur in 1981, I initially had no success in being able to draw out the brute (I was using tied up cows as live bait at the time). It was right at this time, that a parcel had been couriered to me all the way from Pakistan. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Yusuf had sent me his newly published autobiography "With The Wild Animals Of Bengal". One morning, while resting in the cabin of the SL Harrier (then renamed to Forest Queen), I read a page from the book which explained that Royal Bengal tigers inhabiting the Sundarbans were not attracted towards live baits due to the large abundance of Axis deer and (to a slightly lesser extent) Bengal bush boars present in the territory. Rather, a Royal Bengal tiger was likely to be extremely suspicious of a cow or a goat which was tied up in the middle of the forest. It was then that I had an epiphany and cursed myself for not remembering this. Previously, Yusuf had taught our batch this in 1969 during a field trip to the Sundarbans (back when I was still studying Principles Of Forestry at the University Of Peshawar). He had also explained that the only sure-fire method of successfully hunting a Royal Bengal tiger in the Sundarban mangrove forests, was by waiting to ambush it upon it's return at the site of a natural kill which had temporarily been abandoned by the great cat between meals. This epiphany eventually allowed me to switch tactics and successfully bag the Man Eater Of Mohesshoripur.
The Author With The Man Eater Of Mohesshoripur Aboard The Forest Queen (Formerly SL Harrier) (1981)
Yusuf had amazing foresight for a man of his time. In 1973, pressure from so-called "Animal Rights Activists" and "Eco Warriors" culminated in a worldwide ban on tiger hunting. In a letter to me, Yusuf remarked rather bleakly "Those who have been pushing for the ban on tiger hunting hunting today, will push for a ban on deer hunting tomorrow and a ban on bird hunting the day after". To a 22 year old at that time, I could not help but feel that Yusuf was being a little too pessimistic. But 52 years later, I now realize just how correct my mentor was in his prophecy.
In his honor, when I first became the DFO of the Sundarbans in 1980... I nicknamed my anti-poaching unit the "YSA Scouts" (taking inspiration from the Sealous Scouts in Africa).
Jabbar Mollah, The Most Fearless Of The YSA Scouts (1982)
Before I conclude, I can't help but tell one story about Yusuf & myself which will help illustrate what kind of a man he was. During his entire life, Yusuf had only one regret- He had never been able to bag any of the species of Asian bear. He often joked about this misfortune with us. One day in 1970, He & the other lecturers had taken my batch on a field trip to the Kharan District of Balochistan in South West Pakistan. During an evening when I was returning to our rest house from a nearby tea vendor's stall, I spotted a Balochistan black bear sleeping in a tree. It was a petite little thing, probably measuring not more than 31'' from snout to tail. Being a hot-blooded & impulsive 19 year old, I excitedly rushed back to our rest house and told Yusuf that he would finally get his chance at bagging an Asian bear tonight. Yusuf seized his .450/400 Nitro Express (along with plenty of cartridges) and I took along a 5 cell torchlight. I led him back to the tree where the black bear was still soundly sleeping. But when Yusuf saw the sleeping bear, I simply could not get him to fire. I whispered in excitement "Quickly, Sir ! Blow that sleeping beast out of the tree before he has a chance to awaken !" Yusuf angrily slapped me in the back of the head and said "Habib, you barbarian ! Have you no shame ?! Are these the values which I have instilled in you over the last three years ?! To shoot sleeping game is not the act of a sportsman, but a criminal of the highest order. I would rather never bag a bear at all". And so, Yusuf never did get to bag an Asian bear. At the time, I was quite bemused by his refusal to pull the trigger & bag such an easy trophy.
But now, 55 years later... I understand why he did what he did. A real sportsman not only knows when to pull the trigger. But he also knows when not to pull the trigger.
Yusuf's Prized William Evans .450/400 Nitro Express Boxlock Ejector Double Rifle Today
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In my defense, I gave that buck plenty of opportunity to pause in his endeavors but he was obviously besotted. The young doe's mother had spotted me and getting nervous so I squeezed the trigger, a perfect heart shot from sitting position on the side of a ravine. About a hundred yards. He went to heaven with a smile on his face. We should all be so lucky.
