Crooked cats : beastly encounters in the Anthropocene /

Crooked cats : beastly encounters in the Anthropocene /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:	Mathur, Nayanika, author.
Imprint:	Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2021. ©2021
Description:	1 online resource (xiii, 208 pages) : illustrations.
Language:	English
Series:	Animal Lives Animal lives (University of Chicago. Press)
Subject:	Animal attacks -- India. Felidae -- Behavior. Human-animal relationships. Animal attacks. Felidae -- Behavior. Human-animal relationships. India. Electronic books.
Format:	E-Resource Book
URL for this record:	http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/12593355

Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:	022677208X 9780226772080
Notes:	Includes bibliographical references and index. Description based upon print version of record.
Summary:	"The last decade has seen the increasing entry of big cats-lions, tigers, and leopards-into human settlements in India. Most big cats co-reside with humans. But some have become "crooked"-killing people, often serially, and frightening residents in villages and cities. This new book, by big cat connoisseur and anthropologist Nayanika Mathur, lays bare the peculiar atmosphere of terror these encounters create, reinforced by stories, conspiracy theories, rumors, anger, and news reports about charismatic "celebrity" cats. There are various theories of why and how a big cat turns to eating people, and Mathur lays out the dominant ideas offered by the residents with whom she works. These vary from the effects of climate change and habitat loss to history and politics. The latter, for example, include the idea of big cats turning on humans for retribution for past injustices (poaching or hunting). Still, no one, including the scientists who study animal behavior, has been able to explain the highly individualized reasons why some cats turn against humans and others do not. Beautifully detailed in its portrayal of India's places, people, and animals, Crooked Cats sheds light on how we understand nonhuman animals and the growing intensity of human-nonhuman conflict in the Anthropocene"
Other form:	Print version: Mathur, Nayanika. Crooked cats. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2021 9780226771892

Table of Contents:

Prologue: Of Two Reigns of Terror
Introduction: The Beastly Tale of the Leopard of Gopeshwar
1. Crooked Becomings
2. Murderous Looks
3. The Cute Killer
4. A Petition to Kill
5. The Leopard of Rudraprayag versus Shere Khan
6. Big Cats in the City
7. Entrapment
8. Three Beastly Tales to Conclude.