Nine Lives Becomes Ten: John Varty Describes How He Survived a Tiger Attack
John Varty, maverick film maker, conservationist and author of the memoir Nine Lives, has once again narrowly escaped death. Two weeks ago, Varty, who raises tigers in a reserve in the Free State as part of a conservation project, was attacked by one of his big cats. In the following piece Varty relates his near-death experience:
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Anatomy of an Aggressive Tiger
I have known Tiger Corbett from the moment he was born. I suspect he was born first in the litter from his mother, Shadow, and as his feet touched the ground he walked from the den into the 36 degrees centigrade heat outside. By chuffing him, I guided him back to his mother. In short, I had a conversation with Corbett within 10 minutes of his birth.
For the past ten years, I have been making films with Aquavision and whenever I go to Aquavision studios, Julie Brown always greets me with a big hug and a beautiful smile and makes me feel welcome at the offices. During my last trip to Aquavision, I suggested to her that she should come to see the tigers. I was delighted when she phoned me a few days later to tell me that she would be visiting the tigers with her parents. The decision would prove to be momentous for me.
It was a fine afternoon and once again I felt the enormous privilege of being in the presence of the peaceful, calm, intelligent tiger. It occurred to me how well things were going at Tiger Canyon and in what good condition the land and all the tigers were. Having finished the trial run, the crew got back into the jeeps for the return trip to the camp. I went to latch the gates to the boma. Adjacent to Tigress Julie’s boma, was Corbett and his sister Panna in their boma. As usual, Corbett had been paying attention to everything that was going on around him while Panna was nowhere to be seen. As I struggled to latch the gate, I kept looking behind me, as is my habit when at the gates. I noticed a tiger on a rock about 120 meters away and presumed it to be Corbett. In retrospect I realize that the tiger I saw on the rock was Panna while Corbett had been crouching in the grass not 15 m from where I stood, watching my every move. Finally, I managed to latch the gate securely and as I turned to go to the jeep parked about 15 meters away Corbett charged the fence from inside his boma.
All my gates at Tiger Canyon are made from steel bars – the exception is this gate in the holding boma, which has horizontal barbed and electrified wire strung horizontally across it. Somehow, Corbett managed to reach through the wire and with his massive paws hook me around the waist and drag me back against the gate. At this point, it flashed through my mind to use the stick or the hand gun I carry, but Corbett was too quick and his grip too powerful. In short, I was like a rag doll being ripped as he tried to drag me through the wire into his boma. It struck me that these were my last moments on planet Earth. From a distance I heard Julie Brown screaming and to my amazement, risking her life, she jumped off the jeep and grabbed me by my legs and was in a tug-of-war with Corbett. But no human can match a 450lb tiger for strength and power. Flashing through my mind was to try to protect my throat and head. For a moment I thought to sham dead. This was all futile in the grip of the powerful Corbett.
The film producer, Julie-Ann Reid, joined Julie Brown trying to wrest me away from Corbett, but the tiger wouldn’t let go. The incredible bravery of these two women gave cameraman Phumlani Mchunu time to grab an iron bar from the vehicle and smash Corbett over the head, forcing him to release me. For people who have never worked with tigers, to go up against a ferocious tiger armed only with a steel bar, is an incredible act of bravery. They saved my life. Thankfully I was able to stagger to my feet and get into the jeep despite extraordinary pain. Ricky Pretorius, my assistant drove brilliantly to Philippolis where the ambulance was waiting for us. This 30 minute drive was on of the most excruciating experiences of my life as the rutted road jolted my bruised and battered body. My good friend Dr Willie Marx had taken care of logistics at the Bloemfontein Mediclinic and from there things moved like clockwork. Dr Vivian Simmons and anesthetist, Dr Nico Steyn, were standing by and for 6 hours the dedicated doctors fought for my life – the operation ending at 04h45. I’d like to express my extreme gratitude for their skill and dedication in saving my life.
On waking me up the following morning, the three doctors were pale and drained. They told me it was one of the most difficult operations they had attempted. In short, Corbett had broken two of my ribs, splintered a piece of my spine, cut through the wall of my diaphragm and lacerated my body which took hours to clean and hundreds of stitches to repair. When the nursing sister looked at my blood tests she noticed that the testosterone levels were high and promptly ordered all the female nurses to move to the other wards and replaced them with male nurses! The doctors told me they had given me 2 units of blood and steroids to help me through. All of them promised not to report me to the Olympic doping committee as I’m hoping to enter the wrestling event in the London Olympics!
– John Varty, April 2012
About John Varty
He’s swum across crocodile-infested rivers. He’s hunted silently through dense bush alongside wild leopards. He’s been attacked by charging hippo bulls and hungry lionesses. He’s taught an orphaned lion cub how to hunt. He’s watched helplessly as the Mother Leopard, whose life he shared for twelve years, died after being mauled by lions.
John Varty’s love of the natural world was sparked at an early age when he accompanied his father on hunting trips in the bush. He soon gave up hunting to focus on conservation at the family game farm, Londolozi, which is renowned globally for its work with leopards. He co-owns Londolozi Productions and has made over forty documentaries and feature films. Recognised for his ground-breaking work with big cats, today he is best known for Tiger Canyons, a reserve in the Free State where he is raising tigers in the wild as part of a tiger-conservation project.
This is John Varty, maverick film maker and conservationist, Nine Lives is his story.
Book details
- Nine Lives: Memories of a Maverick Conservationist by John Varty
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EAN: 9781770221321
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Photo courtesy Wildphotos Safaris
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