About the Book: Exotic Aliens: The Lion and The Cheetah In India
Exotic Aliens is a bold, original and compelling work about the origins of lions
and cheetahs in India that could turn field biology on its head.
In the sixteenth century, Dutch traveller Jan Linschoten noted the absence of
lions throughout the Indian subcontinent. Two hundred years later, echoing
similar comments made by various hunters and observers of Indian wildlife, the
British shikari and writer, Captain Thomas Williamson, emphatically declared:
There are no lions in Hindustan. Much the same was said about the cheetah inthe
region. These observations piqued the interest of well-known naturalist Valmik
Thapar. After