Three Cheetahs In One Evening

[Professor Mawla]

Today , I will relate one incident from 1973 where we took out no less than three cheetahs in one evening . The incident is recorded in chapter four of my book and the depressing thing is that the forest where this incident occurred , is today the location of the country’s largest international airport .

Before we begin , I would like to verify that ( unless expressly stated otherwise ) , I am using all of my personal photographs for this article . Thus , I own exclusive rights to all the photographs which you see below .

The road from Habiganj to Dacca

 

[Professor Mawla]

Today , Bangladesh’s largest airport is located in the capital city ( Dacca ) . It is called Hazrat Shah Jalal international airport . You will not even find a crow there , today . However this was not always the case . Until 1975 , the area which is now Hazrat Shah Jalal international airport ; used to be a gigantic forest . In June , 1973 , the government had decided that the forest would be cleared in order to build an airstrip . However , workers were having serious problems with the local wildlife in this area .

The area was overrun by wild boars and cheetahs , which were constantly wounding ( and in a few cases , actually killing ) the local workers who were trying to build the airstrip . The local police DC began to grant a finite number of permits to local hunters for sorting out these problem animals. 300 Taka would be rewarded for every cheetah that was successfully killed ( no such rewards were being given for wild boars , however ) . When I received the news of this , I immediately decided to try my hand at making some extra money . I notified Joy and we decided that getting paid to hunt down cheetahs and wild boars , was possibly the most thrilling means of making some extra money which we could hope for . We decided that we would be traveling from Habiganj to Dacca on a Thursday morning . All plans were made for us to go to Dacca on June 16 .

We took three arms with us :
* My Laurona 12 bore sidelock ejector side by side shotgun
* Joy’s 12 bore FN Browning A-5 semi automatic shotgun
* My BRNO .22 LR bolt action rifle


We took the following ammunition with us :
* 20 rounds of Eley Alphamax 2 3/4 inch LG shells
* 20 rounds of locally reloaded 2 3/4 inch LG shells
* 100 rounds of Eley Rifle Club .22 LR shells , loaded with 40 grain solid lead bullets
* 10 rounds of Eley Alphamax 2 3/4 inch Number 4 birdshot shells ( so that we could shoot a few green pigeons for the pot )


On the morning of June 16 , Joy and I set off from Habiganj to Dacca in my Ford pick up truck . Accompanying us was Joy’s old family servant , Mustapha . By evening , we had arrived and booked three rooms in Purbani hotel ( the oldest existing hotel in Dacca , today ) . Both Joy and I each paid half the rent for Mustapha’s room . Joy and I shared a simple meal at the bistro on the ground floor : Griddled dry aged beef sirloin steak ( mine was done rare ) and chips ( called “ French fries “ in the United States ) with Coleman’s English mustard as a condiment ; while giving Mustapha some pocket money to go and have his dinner at a place of his choice . We washed the meal down with a couple of tins of Budweiser beer and watched the television at the recreational lodge on the ground floor ( back in those days , television sets were still not available in individual hotel rooms ) for a couple of hours . Then , we retired to our rooms in order to get a good night’s rest . The next day was going to be a very active one and we needed all of our energy .

Left to right : Modern Winchester 2 3/4 inch Magnum SG shell ( 12 copper plated slugs ) , Eley Alphamax 2 3/4 inch LG shell ( eight antimony hardened slugs ) , Locally reloaded 2 3/4 inch LG shell ( six antimony hardened slugs ) .

Note : Despite being the same size as the Eley Alphamax LG shell , the local product holds two less slugs because it used a fold crimp while the Eley Alphamax LG shell uses a roll crimp .

Ferry from Habiganj to Dacca

 

[Professor Mawla]

At late noon on the following day , we ( Joy , Mustapha and I ) drove my pickup truck into the area which is now known as Uttara . We kept going until we had reached the partially completed airstrip . It was here that we parked the truck and decided to continue the rest of the journey on foot , because the road ended here and the forest had begun . It was an incredibly dense forest , too . And the sun had just begun to set .


I carried my Laurona 12 bore sidelock ejector in my hands , which was loaded with an Eley Alphamax LG shell in the chamber of each barrel . On my ammunition belt , I had 18 extra Eley Alphamax LG shells . Joy carried his 12 bore Browning A - 5 , which was loaded with local LG shells . On his ammunition bandolier ( slung across his shoulders ) , he had 15 extra local LG shells . Mustapha carried my BRNO .22 LR bolt action rifle in his hands and was carrying the bag pack , which contained all of our remaining spare ammunition . While trekking through the forest , we came across a few sounders of huge wild boar . As I raised my Laurona 12 bore to my shoulders ( in order to commence shooting them ) , Joy stopped me . He told me that the gun shots would alert the cheetahs , which were the main reason why we were here . It was then , mutually agreed between us that we would hold our fire until we found any cheetahs .


About half an hour went by , before we were able to find the pug marks of any cheetahs . We advanced forward , until he found a small stream . Mustapha pointed at something near the stream . Initially Joy and I did not notice anything , but then Joy took a look through a pair of binoculars which were hanging from a lanyard from his neck . There , lying down on the other side of the stream ( which was roughly 100 yards away from us ) and taking a nap ; were three large cheetahs . We had found what we were looking for.



Joy and I debated about what was the best method of taking these animals out . We had two options :
A . Either we could close in on them while they were napping , and shoot them to death with our shotguns at point blank range .
Or
B . We could shoot them in the heads from the other side of the stream , with my .22 LR .

The problem with option A , was that we would be needing to cross the stream . The problem with option B , was that a 40 grain .22 calibre bullet is not much good for anything larger than a crane .


Eventually , we decided upon option B because I was confident that a well placed brain shot on the unsuspecting cheetahs with my .22 LR , would actually prove fatal . Since the animals were lying down and my .22 LR was mounted with an accurate Weaver K 5 telescopic sight ( Not too high magnification ) , I was confident that I could place my shots properly . And since the noise of a .22 LR is quite minuscule , the remaining cheetahs were unlikely be become alerted by the sounds of my gunshots .


I handed Mustapha my Laurona 12 Bore and took my BRNO .22 LR from him . Then , I sat down on the ground and raised the rifle to my shoulder . One cheetah had it’s head turned in such a manner , that it was perfect for landing a side brain shot . I cycled the bolt , held my breath , took aim at the ear hole and pulled the trigger . The nonchalant pop of the .22 LR was followed by the cheetah slumping it’s head softly to the ground , as blood began to trickle out of the ear hole . It lay motionless and very much dead . Pleasantly surprised that our theory of a brain shot with a .22 LR being capable of killing a cheetah was actually correct , Joy and I decided to take out the two other cheetahs in a similar fashion .


Joy took the BRNO .22 LR from my hands and sat down on the ground . He cycled the bolt and took careful aim at the second cheetah . This one was lying down in such a way that it was directly facing us . Thus , a frontal brain shot was the only option . Joy lined up his sights and pulled the trigger . Again , the nonchalant pop of the .22 LR was followed by blood trickling our of a neat little hole in the T zone of the cheetah .


With only one cheetah left now , I decided that I should be the one to take it out . I took my BRNO .22 LR from Joy and got ready to shoot the final cheetah . It looked larger and heavier than the other two and we were facing it from a broadside position , but I thought that it would be just as effortless to take out as the other two . Again , I took aim at the side of the cheetah’s head ; visualizing the ear hole as a target . Cycling the bolt , I held my breath and pulled the triggers.


Of course , one can only get away with doing something so foolhardy for so many times . Perhaps my aim was off by a millimeter or two . Perhaps the cheetah had moved , at the last moment . Anyway , the 40 grain .22 calibre bullet glanced off the skull of the cheetah . It suddenly leapt up in pain and locked eyes with us . Roaring angrily , it ran off into the thick foliage . Now , Joy and I started worrying about having a wounded cheetah on our hands which needed to be sorted out . It was now beginning to get dark .

Eley Rifle Club .22 LR solid ammunition owned by the author .

Female cheetah killed by the author with a side brain shot , employing a .22 LR . June 17 , 1973 .

 

[Professor Mawla]

We decided the cross the stream and examine the two cheetahs which we had successfully killed . I handed the BRNO .22 LR back to Mustapha , and retrieved the Laurona 12 bore from him . I rolled the legs of my cream flannel dress trousers up to my knees , while Joy and Mustapha did the same . Then , we began wading through the shallowest part of the stream in order to reach the two dead cheetahs .

When we reached the dead cheetahs , we realized that Joy and I had shot two very large females . We were now certain that the wounded cheetah which had escaped into the foliage , was a large male . It would be waiting for us , in the bushes . Since the sun had fully set by now , I switched on the six cell torchlight which was attached to the fore end of my shotgun , and then went the direction where the wounded cheetah had gone . Joy went with me , while telling Mustapha to get the corpses of each of the cheetahs back to my pick up truck .

As we pressed forward , I speculated that the cheetah must have gotten far because it had only suffered a superficial wound . However , Joy speculated that the cheetah was waiting somewhere nearby with the intention of ambushing us . He reasoned that the cheetah had seen us after getting shot , and was determined to take it’s revenge on us . As we kept going , we tried looking on the ground for any potential blood drops . But predictably , we did not find any .

All of a sudden , the we heard a low guttural growl coming from my right side . What happened next , occurred in a brief span of less than two seconds . Spinning around at a 90 degree angle ,we both saw the cheetah launching itself at us from a distance of four metres . It’s ears were cocked back and it’s sharp claws were poised . Taking quick aim at the centre of mass , I quickly pulled both the triggers of my Laurona 12 bore . The two concentrated charges of LG slugs caught the cheetah full on , in the chest . But it still came on . I instinctively dived onto the ground on my left side , as the cheetah dropped right next to me . It was dead . My two shots had killed it , mid flight .


Joy poked the eye of the dead cheetah with his Browning A-5 12 bore just to confirm that it was indeed , dead . This cheetah was a large and heavy adult male . I grabbed the fore legs , while Joy grabbed the hind legs . I took out my carbon steel Case trapper folding knife and a small roll of para cord from my trouser pocket . Cutting off appropriate lengths of para cord , We lashed one hind leg with another and one fore leg with another . Then , we both carried the final cheetah back to the pick up truck .

When we took the corpses of the three cheetahs back to the local police station , we received 900 Taka for them . The cheetahs had a good weight . One female weighed 52 kilograms . The other weighed 55 kilograms . The large male weighed 71 kilograms . An an autopsy , we re - affirmed our beliefs that the skull of a male cheetah is noticeably thicker than the skull of a female cheetah . No doubt , this was why my BRNO .22 LR had proven effective on the two female cheetahs , but had angled off the skull of the male cheetah . The concentrated charge of 16 LG slugs at point blank range had completely shredded the heart of the male cheetah . Joy and I kept 400 Taka each , while letting Mustapha keep 100 Taka .

The stream crossed by the author in the forest of Uttara on June 17, 1973 . Today , neither the stream nor the forest exist .

Another cheetah ( a marauder ) killed by the author ( pictured ) with a 12 bore and an Eley Alphamax LG shell . October 1976 .

 

[Professor Mawla]

After 1973 , I know of a few more cheetahs which were shot in that part of Uttara . By 1975 however , the entire forest had completely been cut down . Hazrat Shahjalal international airport had been built , over there . Today , you will be lucky enough to find a crow ( let alone a cheetah ) in this part of Bangladesh . When I originally published my book in 1999 , many of the younger generations had an extremely difficult time believing that a 40 grain .22 calibre bullet was capable of killing a cheetah . They had an even more difficult time believing that cheetahs and wild boars once roamed in the area which is now Hazrat Shah Jalal international airport . But it happened . Ask anyone born in Bangladesh before 1973 , and they can attest to that .

On a personal note , it is understandable why the government needed to chop that forest down and eradicate all of the wildlife in order to build the country’s largest airport . However , deep down inside ; I wish that the forest still existed today . And I also must stress that a .22 LR is probably the most unsuitable calibre for tackling dangerous game ( let alone a cheetah ) . It must be remembered that at the time of this incident , I was only 19 years old and not very rational in all of my decisions . If I had to do it all over again today , then I would definitely use my .458 WM ( Winchester Magnum ) and 510 grain Winchester Super X soft nosed ammunition . Certainly nothing smaller than a 7 mm Remington Magnum and 175 grain Nosler Partition soft nosed ammunition . That said ; the incident proved to both Joy and I that a properly placed 40 grain .22 caliber bullet can definitely kill a cheetah . However , the margin for error is nonexistent .

The once vast forest of Uttara .

Laurona 12 bore ( 2 3/4 inch chamber ) sidelock ejector shotgun owned by the author .

Hazrat Shah Jalal international airport . August , 2020 .

 

[Uncle Sauce]

Wonderful story Professor Mawla - Thanks for sharing!

 

[Professor Mawla]

@Uncle Sauce
I am very happy that you enjoyed it .

 

[Andrew Short]

Very impressive! I couldn't imagine attempting to take a Cheetah with a 22. I look forward to reading more stories!

 

[IvW]

At late noon on the following day , we ( Joy , Mustapha and I ) drove my pickup truck into the area which is now known as Uttara . We kept going until we had reached the partially completed airstrip . It was here that we parked the truck and decided to continue the rest of the journey on foot , because the road ended here and the forest had begun . It was an incredibly dense forest , too . And the sun had just begun to set .


I carried my Laurona 12 bore sidelock ejector in my hands , which was loaded with an Eley Alphamax LG shell in the chamber of each barrel . On my ammunition belt , I had 18 extra Eley Alphamax LG shells . Joy carried his 12 bore Browning A - 5 , which was loaded with local LG shells . On his ammunition bandolier ( slung across his shoulders ) , he had 15 extra local LG shells . Mustapha carried my BRNO .22 LR bolt action rifle in his hands and was carrying the bag pack , which contained all of our remaining spare ammunition . While trekking through the forest , we came across a few sounders of huge wild boar . As I raised my Laurona 12 bore to my shoulders ( in order to commence shooting them ) , Joy stopped me . He told me that the gun shots would alert the cheetahs , which were the main reason why we were here . It was then , mutually agreed between us that we would hold our fire until we found any cheetahs .


About half an hour went by , before we were able to find the pug marks of any cheetahs . We advanced forward , until he found a small stream . Mustapha pointed at something near the stream . Initially Joy and I did not notice anything , but then Joy took a look through a pair of binoculars which were hanging from a lanyard from his neck . There , lying down on the other side of the stream ( which was roughly 100 yards away from us ) and taking a nap ; were three large cheetahs . We had found what we were looking for.



Joy and I debated about what was the best method of taking these animals out . We had two options :
A . Either we could close in on them while they were napping , and shoot them to death with our shotguns at point blank range .
Or
B . We could shoot them in the heads from the other side of the stream , with my .22 LR .

The problem with option A , was that we would be needing to cross the stream . The problem with option B , was that a 40 grain .22 calibre bullet is not much good for anything larger than a crane .


Eventually , we decided upon option B because I was confident that a well placed brain shot on the unsuspecting cheetahs with my .22 LR , would actually prove fatal . Since the animals were lying down and my .22 LR was mounted with an accurate Weaver K 5 telescopic sight ( Not too high magnification ) , I was confident that I could place my shots properly . And since the noise of a .22 LR is quite minuscule , the remaining cheetahs were unlikely be become alerted by the sounds of my gunshots .


I handed Mustapha my Laurona 12 Bore and took my BRNO .22 LR from him . Then , I sat down on the ground and raised the rifle to my shoulder . One cheetah had it’s head turned in such a manner , that it was perfect for landing a side brain shot . I cycled the bolt , held my breath , took aim at the ear hole and pulled the trigger . The nonchalant pop of the .22 LR was followed by the cheetah slumping it’s head softly to the ground , as blood began to trickle out of the ear hole . It lay motionless and very much dead . Pleasantly surprised that our theory of a brain shot with a .22 LR being capable of killing a cheetah was actually correct , Joy and I decided to take out the two other cheetahs in a similar fashion .


Joy took the BRNO .22 LR from my hands and sat down on the ground . He cycled the bolt and took careful aim at the second cheetah . This one was lying down in such a way that it was directly facing us . Thus , a frontal brain shot was the only option . Joy lined up his sights and pulled the trigger . Again , the nonchalant pop of the .22 LR was followed by blood trickling our of a neat little hole in the T zone of the cheetah .


With only one cheetah left now , I decided that I should be the one to take it out . I took my BRNO .22 LR from Joy and got ready to shoot the final cheetah . It looked larger and heavier than the other two and we were facing it from a broadside position , but I thought that it would be just as effortless to take out as the other two . Again , I took aim at the side of the cheetah’s head ; visualizing the ear hole as a target . Cycling the bolt , I held my breath and pulled the triggers.


Of course , one can only get away with doing something so foolhardy for so many times . Perhaps my aim was off by a millimeter or two . Perhaps the cheetah had moved , at the last moment . Anyway , the 40 grain .22 calibre bullet glanced off the skull of the cheetah . It suddenly leapt up in pain and locked eyes with us . Roaring angrily , it ran off into the thick foliage . Now , Joy and I started worrying about having a wounded cheetah on our hands which needed to be sorted out . It was now beginning to get dark .

View attachment 363587
Eley Rifle Club .22 LR solid ammunition owned by the author .
View attachment 363588
Female cheetah killed by the author with a side brain shot , employing a .22 LR . June 17 , 1973 .

That looks more like a Leopard not a cheetah

 

[Professor Mawla]

Very impressive! I couldn't imagine attempting to take a Cheetah with a 22. I look forward to reading more stories!

@Andrew Short
Thank you . It was very foolish of me to go after those cheetahs with a .22 LR . But I was a reckless teenager at the time . If I had to do it all over again , then I would use my .458 WM and a 500 grain Nosler Partition soft point bullet .

 

[Professor Mawla]

That looks more like a Leopard not a cheetah

@IvW
It would appear that you and I are both right .

 

[Nyati]

Great story !

And yes, when you are 19, you can be a bit reckless

 

[Professor Mawla]

Great story !

And yes, when you are 19, you can be a bit reckless

@Nyati
Thank you so much .

 

[StephenZambia]

@IvW
It would appear that you and I are both right .
View attachment 363639

So there is no word for cheetah in Bengali? After all, they are different species. Quite incredible to shoot two of them with the others not waking up, well placed shots!

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Good story Professor, a very profitable day that must have been.

 

[Professor Mawla]

So there is no word for cheetah in Bengali? After all, they are different species. Quite incredible to shoot two of them with the others not waking up, well placed shots!

@StephenZambia
No . Cheetahs ( as English speaking countries recognize them ) went extinct in South East Asia in 1949 . That is at least 22 years before Bangladesh became independent .

 

[Professor Mawla]

Good story Professor, a very profitable day that must have been.

@Wyatt Smith
Thank you so much .

 

[Wheels]

Great story Professor.

Glad you got the interpretation of Cheetah to Leopard figured out.

I give you a lot of credit for taking on a leopard with a .22. I would need a much larger body of water than that stream to shoot over.


The removal of the forest for an airport reminds me of a Canadian song around the same time.

"You don't know what you've got till it's gone.
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot"

 

[WAB]

That looks more like a Leopard not a cheetah

I believe that it is. Likely a translation issue.

 

[typilotguy]

Fascinating story. Thank you for sharing it!