Some predatory animals, under certain conditions, consider humans as legal prey for their dinner. It is customary to call such animals cannibals, and unfortunately there are enough of them in the animal kingdom of our planet: crocodiles, sharks, bears, large felines, etc. For example, in Asia from time to time there are gourmets in the face of tigers or leopards who prefer exclusively human meat. So in 1886, wild animals killed 25,000 people in India, out of this figure, tigers reduced the number of Indians by 923 people, and a third of them were eaten. In Europe, for its inhabitants, wolves are the most dangerous and most stained with human blood. In times of famine, they attack any living creature in which they see potential food, including people. For example in Bulgaria,in 1880, in a short period of time, a flock of gray predators killed and ate 7 people: 4 peasants, 2 gendarmes and a postman.
Since time immemorial, wolves have lived next to people, their habits are well studied and when meeting with a gray predator, most people know what to expect from him and how to act in case of an attack. It is a completely different matter when a previously unseen animal with an incomprehensible, aggressive behavior suddenly appears and begins to collect its bloody harvest, sowing terror among the local population. This is the case in the Tula province.
In August 1843, the Tula district was agitated by the terrible news - an unknown animal appeared in the surrounding forests, killing and eating people. It all started in the afternoon of August 5, when an eight-year-old peasant girl Avdotya from the village of Medvenki, the landowner Kologrivoy, went to the field to pick peas and did not return; according to a search carried out, the next day bloody clothes and the remains of this girl were found. Soon after that, on August 9, the inhabitants of the village of Demidovka (landowner Mikhailova), fifteen-year-old Prokopy Panferov, with two Vasily: his brother and a non-commissioned officer's son, just before the evening, went into the forest for nuts, where they were met by an unknown animal, from which one of Panferovs, in fright, fled to no one knows where. Two days later, the peasants of the village of Demidovka in the small forest found his shirt and hat, and near them the remains of entrails and bones. As a result of these terrible incidents, the Vice-Governor instructed the Tula district police officer to immediately attend to taking all possible measures to search for and exterminate the beast. It was ordered to visit the police officers of the neighboring counties, so that they, for their part, would take the necessary precautions and measures. On August 22, the police chief of Tula reported that, for all the searches carried out by the police officer Samsonov with hunters and other teams of devious settlers, both in the state settlement of the Tula district and in other forests adjacent to it, no special animal was encountered; but from many inhabitants it was found out that they had seen an extraordinary beast, "taller and taller than a wolf, with a big round head, brown wool with apples, running and jumping."Meanwhile, the unknown predator continued to collect his bloody harvest, terrifying the inhabitants of the district. On August 22, he abducted a six-year-old boy from the village of Bronnikovo, Kuzma Nikitin. According to the elder sister Agrafena, she and her brother went to fetch rowan trees in a nearby forest from which suddenly some animal jumped out, which grabbed and took her brother with it. Frightened, the girl ran for help. A search was immediately organized, during which the boy was found in the forest, half a verst from the village, almost completely eaten. Before this terrible event, the beast managed to fool around in other places. On August 19, he attacked several peasant women from the village of Demidovka working in the field, but did not harm them, fearing the screams raised by the women. Then he tried to eat the shepherd, who barely rode away from him on horseback. However,the animal did not remain hungry, in the village of Annina he managed to have a light meal with three geese. All these bloodthirsty adventures of an unknown creature forced the leadership of the province to resort to intensified measures; to announce a gathering of hunters for the pursuit and extermination of the beast in the city of Tula and in the district, with a promise of 200 rubles as a reward. banknotes collected by the inhabitants of Tula, and, in addition, the presentation to the higher authorities of the one who will perform the proposed feat. The military governor of the city of Tula and the Tula civilian governor increased the promised monetary reward by another 100 rubles. banknotes, actually from myself.to announce a gathering of hunters for the pursuit and extermination of the beast in the city of Tula and in the district, with a promise of 200 rubles as a reward. banknotes collected by the inhabitants of Tula, and, in addition, the presentation to the higher authorities of the one who will perform the proposed feat. The military governor of the city of Tula and the Tula civilian governor increased the promised monetary reward by another 100 rubles. banknotes, actually from myself.to announce a gathering of hunters for the pursuit and extermination of the beast in the city of Tula and in the district, with a promise of 200 rubles as a reward. banknotes collected by the inhabitants of Tula, and, in addition, the presentation to the higher authorities of the one who will perform the proposed feat. The military governor of the city of Tula and the Tula civilian governor increased the promised monetary reward by another 100 rubles. banknotes, actually from myself.
On September 4, the beast appeared in the village of Ponomarevo of the landowner Novomlinsky, where he tried to hunt to no avail. Moreover, the owner of the estate, before the animal managed to hide in the forest, fired a shot from a gun, which hit the predator in the right hind leg. On September 9, the unknown predatory beast was seen again, but this was already the last appearance of the mysterious monster. Since then, as the records of the governor testify, all traces of him have disappeared, and the rumor about him has disappeared completely.
Many in the province asked the question: what kind of monster was it, and where did it come from? According to the habits and descriptions, it is impossible to recognize any of the local predators of the Tula forests, distinguished by such variegated fur and terrible bloodthirstiness. It was suggested that it was a fugitive (most likely a hyena) who escaped from the cage of some nomadic menagerie, which, judging by the time, must have made its way to the famous Nizhny Novgorod fair. By the way, this is not the only escape from the mobile menagerie of the predatory beast. Almost 50 years later, a tiger escaped from a cage at Uman station. True, his adventures are less bloody and the worst enemies of cats - dogs - became victims. In a short time in the settlement of Varvarovka (Biryuchensky district, Voronezh lips) and nearby villages, he practically exterminated all the dogs. Here is a note from a newspaper of the time describing this passage.