Amur Falcons Fly Safe over Nagaland

Here is an illustration I drew for Conservation India to mark the success of the Amur Falcon. This has probably been one of the biggest recent conservation successes in India, where Conservation India led by Ramki Sreenivasan, and Shashank Dalvi documented the slaughter of the migrating Amur Falcons in Nagaland, spread tremendous awareness about the issue through online portals, involved readers and decision makers and mobilized the masses in the state to achieve a result so significant, that not a single killing was reported this year! A huge round of applause for CI and the communities who made the safe passage of falcons over Nagaland happen!

Here's teh link to the report on CI- http://www.conservationindia.org/campaigns/amur-massacre

And this is the cartoon I drew last year on this issue, when the massacre was at its peak- http://www.greenhumour.com/2012/11/never-land-in-nagaland.html

Plagiarism by R. Rajgopalan's 'Environment an Illustrated Guide' published by Oxford University Press.

A case of blatant plagiarism has hit me- my cartoon on the Great Indian Bustard has been copied and published in a title 'Environment an Illustrated Journey' by R. Rajgopalan, published by the Oxford University Press in 2011. The image attached here has the relevant details of the act. I thank my friend Sneha Dharwadkar for bringing the matter to my notice and also sending me the pictures of the book and the cartoon used in the book. I have written to the publishing house and am expecting a response asap. In the meantime, if any of you knows Mr. Rajgopalan and would be willing to put me through to him, I'd really appreciate the help. I would request all conservation-related friends in my circle to extend support and report the matter amongst their network. Please note that I have not been credited in any manner in the publication, nor has any written permission been sought from either the author or the publication.

Lions and Trophy Hunting

TV shows and internet videos that link machismo and animal hunts are propagating a very wrong message, and more so by often linking these practices to conservation. African Lion populations have dwindled recently owing to disease and human disturbances, and trophy hunting is the last thing that is required. While many argue that funds for conservation depend on trophy hunting, it is absolutely unnecessary to portray and propagate this as a 'macho ' 'sport'. The recent shooting of a lion by Melissa Bachman, the host of 'Winchester Deadly Passion' has sparked off a conservation vs hunting debate. If you're against the trophy hunting practice, do sign the petition against Bachman here.

This cartoon appears in the newsletter of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology whcih you can read here.

The Saola

The Saola, a critically endangered antelope-like bovid was spotted by camera traps set up by the WWF and the Vietnamese government in the Annamite Mountains in Vietnam. The mammal hadn't been seen in the wild for nearly 20 years! This rarity has led to its nickname- the Asian Unicorn and estimates place global populations at a mere 250-300 animals. The main threats to the Saola are habitat loss, poaching and accidental trapping in snares. 

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

Conservation threats for the Indian Elephant

Bholu the Elephant is the mascot for the Indian Railways. Ironically, Bholu and the species he represents, are being massacred by the dozen, frequently along East India's railway tracks. This illustration was published in Saevus magazine's November issue along with the others-

(click to enlarge)

In yet another train accident in Jalpaiguri seven of our National Heritage Animals were left dead. Each time such accidents happen, there's a blame game played between the forest department and the railway authorities, and very little substantial action results. A strict check on the speed limit of trains crossing elephant habitat and better coordination between the respective departments are the need of the hour.

Birdwatchers' Day

12th November, the birthday of Salim Ali is celebrated as Birdwatchers' Day in India. Salim Ali (1896-1987) often referred to as 'the bird man of India' was a key figure in Indian ornithology. He was among the first Indians to conduct bird surveys and played an instrumental role in the Bombay Natural History Society. He also helped establish the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary in Rajasthan and prevent the destruction of the Silent Valley National Park in Kerala. His books on birds and birding still serve as bibles for beginners and experts alike. Happy birdwatchers' day, readers!

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

Bats and echolocation

Microbats use echolocation both for foraging and navigation, and are capable of doing so in complete darkness. This enables them to prey on nocturnal insects and avoid competition from other insectivores. They emit unltrasound from the larynx, but some species such as the horseshoe bats produce sounds from the nose. Different species use different frequencies of ultrasound and this property has been cashed upon by bat experts to identify individual species using bat detectors. 

This cartoon appears in Saevus' issue this month. My brother Rohit who is a wildlife biologist is off to the Andaman Islands to study the bats of the region. I received a bit of hands-on training from him on how to use a bat detector a few months back at the NCBS campus in Bangalore. The device makes these guys sound like they're giggling at dirty jokes!

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