Book on Kerala’s star tiger George to be released in India on Jan 20

The book “The Story of George” about a tiger of Thiruvananthapuram Zoo is back in news as it will be released in Kerala’s capital city on January 20.

Written by French writer, Claire Le Michel, the story revolves around this big cat who died in 2021 at the age of 22. So fascinating is the narrative that is being taught in French schools as part of the curriculum.

George came into limelight when in 2015 he created trouble for the authorities as he started straying into human settlement and killing livestock. Following his capture, he was taken to the Zoo where it was found that he had multiple injuries, making his chances of survival very remote.

Apart from several maggot-infested injuries, there was a deep wound on George’s left thigh while his claw was injured and there was severe inflammation on the paw. He had tapeworms and his lungs were also compromised.

A senior veterinary surgeon Dr. Jacob Alexander treated him and gave him a new lease of life. He named him George after a character in the film “Premam”. It was during this period, that Claire, a contemporary dancer visited the Zoo and came to know about this tiger and on returning to France wrote the book on him.

In France the book became an instant hit and soon it was made part of school syllabus with the aim of teaching children about wildlife and tiger conservation.