Halloween in the Wild

Jaw traps for tigers, Traditional Chinese Medicine for rhinos, fur pelts for leopards, ivory products and AK-47s for African Elephants, snares for bears, deer, and various small mammals, gillnets for turtles and crocodiles, nets for birds and the list goes on. Poaching ranks aming the top international crimes today.

This work by Rohan Chakravarty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Oh, Taxonomy!

Owing to their great diversity, frogs pose a challenge to taxonomists the world over. What are simply frogs or toads to the layman are a puzzle that has taken and will continue to take years and years of effort and research for taxonomists to describe and classify. Frogs belong to the order Anura, which contains around 4800 species and accounts for nearly 85% of the world's extant amphibians.

One of the rare occasions in which I had collaborated with someone for a cartoon. This is a gag written by the renowned herpetologist and King Cobra expert, Romulus Whitaker, that I illustrated for his talk on amphibian conservation last year. Enjoy the toon!

This work by Rohan Chakravarty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Extinction Extended

Ever wondered what happens to this 'other tribe' of conservationists, wildlife artists, photographers, naturalists, birdwatchers and environmentalists, that is evolving hand-in-hand with wildlife once extinction claims all animals? See you guys in a museum a hundred years from now!

This work by Rohan Chakravarty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Cartoons in Current Conservation and Point of Purchase

Current Conservation published one of my cartoons from Green Humour (http://greenhumour.blogspot.in/2010/10/smart-nesting.html) in their previouse issue. Check out the stunning Bald Eagle paintng on the cover done by Pencilsauce!

Also if you're interested in my cartoons other than wildlife, pick up the latest issue of 'Point of Purchase', a retail magazine brought out from Bangalore, India.

Disadvantages of being radio-collared

Radio-tracking has proved to be an invaluable method of studying animal migration. Radio-tracking involves attaching a transmitter to the body of the animal, that send out radio signals just like a radio station. These signals are then tracked by a receiver held by the scientist who follows the animal in a truck, ATV or an aircraft. The transmitters may either be placed externally, like radio-collars, rings and labels, or internally using surgical implanting procedures.

This work by Rohan Chakravarty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Say Baleen!

Baleen whales have a specialized filter feeder system inside their mouths known as Baleen, which are columns of bristles attached to the whale's upper jaw. When a baleen whale consumes a large quantity of food such as krill, it uses the baleen plates to push the water out and retain the food. Baleen whales have been hunted for baleen in the past which was considered a cheaper substitute for ivory.

Happy World Smile Day!

This work by Rohan Chakravarty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.