Bird caricatures- published!

I've got some great news for readers who are following my bird caricature series- these are now a part of Saevus magazine's section, 'Go Birding' written by eminent Indian birder, Mr. Sumit Sen. Beginning with this Comb Duck above, these caricatures will appear one bird family at a time in each issue.

I am also set for the Arunachal Bird Festival, where I will be displaying prints of some of these bird caricatures from North-East India. I will be speaking on art and biodiversity and will also be deconstructing one of these caricatures to explain the process to students and other audiences. 

The Great Hornbill

The Wedge-billed Wren Babbler

The Rufous-necked Hornbills

The Ward's Trogon

The Bugun Liocichla

And the Blyth's Tragopan

Prints of these are available as A3 posters which you can order by sending a mail to me on rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com. I may be out of coverage for the next one week, so I'll get back to all messages and emails once I'm back.

Narwhals and Climate Change

Narwhals are toothed whales living in the Arctic, and have the largest canines for any animal in the world. This canine is the long, helical 'tusk' that you see protruding out of the animal's snout. The tusk is a common masculine feature but is also seen in some females. The narwhal is one of the most vulnerable mammals to climate change as it depends on sea ice to hunt fish. The current world population is around 75000, giving it a 'Near Threatened' designation on IUCN's Red List.

With this cartoon, I begin a fortnightly column in 'The Hindu' newspaper's weekend supplement, 'BL-ink'. Watch out for more new cartoons here!

The Birds of Eaglenest

The Arunachal Bird Festival is around the corner and I'm ecstatic to be a part of it. I'll be displaying some of my bird caricatures as well as other posters at the event, and the funds from the sale of these go to the Bugun Welfare Society. Here's a compilation of caricatures of the birds of Eaglenest, which will be available for sale as poster prints at the event. I will also be interacting with kids and visitors, speaking about the relationship between art and wildlife. If you're planning to make a visit, drop by and say hello! Open the image below to view the event schedule-

Kites of India

Every year, Sankrant or the Kite-flying festival celebrated in the month of January in India claims the lives of hundreds of birds. Kites with glass-coated strings (manjas) pose a very serious threat, most often causing fatal injuries on collision. Even if they are not coated with glass particles, kite strings often result in entanglement and related injuries, many of which cause deep wounds, deformities, starvation and death. The problem is even worse in the north-western states where populations of the critically endangered Gyps vultures reside.

So how many of you are flying the Killvus killvus this year?

The Arctic Tern's migratory route

Here's to the kings of migration- the Arctic Terns. Covering about 80000 km each year on the wing, there's absolutely no stopping these birds! Published in Tinkle Digest this month.

Elephas maximus

The year for me was full of elephants. I got to see a number of wild elephants, had a close encounter with one, and even worked on several cartoons and illustrations on elephants. So here I am, starting 2014 with an elephant poster. Email me to order your prints. Happy new year, elephant lovers!