This lineage of Trackers from the jungles of northern India, where our founder Matt Shull’s father was born, is closely linked to our school. The stories and skills of the Shikari were passed down directly to White Pine’s founder Matt Shull from his Grandfather Ernie Shull, who spent 20 years as the Shikari Manager for the Dangs District in the gorgeous foothills of the Himalayas in India.
The famous author and Shikari Jim Corbett from the neighboring Kumaon region was the first western writer to document the ancient knowledge of interspecies communication. This, coupled with the eye of a master tracker, allowed Jim to stalk and harvest some of the most notorious man-eating cats in the region. Some, like the Temple Tiger, were responsible for killing over 300 people over a 10 year period. Like Jim, Ernie utilized his incredible naturalist knowledge, paired with bird language and tracking, to harvest several cats, like the Man-Eating Leopard of Subir. It is the skills, stories and philosophy of “jungle etiquette” that define the Shikari Lineage that we are so honored to carry.
Check out our expression of the Shikari Wilderness System and how we use it at White Pine.