In the 13th century, thirty-three million square kilometers of the world—about sixteen percent of the Earth’s land surface—fell under the rule of a single, colossal power: the Mongol Empire. An expanse surpassed only by the British Empire centuries later.

“I once saw a man after a tiger attack— only his thigh remained . His head, arms…the rest of his body was gone.” Mawi recalls the horror from 1971. That year, he says, five villagers were killed by tigers. People lived in fear. He was only a teenager then, but his resolve to protect the village drove him to become a tiger hunter. Portrait of a Sumatran tiger A Bloody Livelihood At first, Mawi only wanted to safeguard his home village. But in time, he grew addicted. Instead of

Near a wide pit by the village graveyard, Supardi carried out the execution in mere seconds—without a trace of hesitation. Blood spurted from slit throats, warm and thick in the night air.