Thanks Leonardo DiCaprio!

Just a little "thank you" from Arctic animals to Leonardo Dicaprio for speaking about climate change in his Oscar acceptance speech!

Happy Leap Day!

Here's a Malabar Gliding Frog wishing you all a happy Leap Day. Did you know that by extending the bright red webs between its toes, the gliding frog can glide for up to 12 metres? The species is endemic to the Western Ghats (Frogs of the Western Ghats).

The cartoon appears on my Gocomics page today.

Bat tie clips

One on bats and tie clips from my Gocomics page today.

Pangolins of the World

(click for larger view)

Happy World Pangolin Day! Here is an illustrated map that shows where to find the 8 extant species of pangolins in the world, and also denotes their current status on the IUCN Red List (Range references are from the IUCN Red List).

Pangolins or scaly ant-eaters are an order of mammals spread across Africa, South and South-East Asia. They are famous for rolling into spiny balls to escape predators, which is how they get their name ('Penguling' in Malay means something that rolls up- see cartoon on the pangolin's defence mechanism here.) While they use their keratinous scales for defence, pangolins are equipped with thick, strong fore claws, which they use to rip open termite mounds and ant nests. They then forage on these insects using their incredibly long tongues.

In spite of being the most harmless creatures, they are the world's most trafficked mammals today, and some of the species are nearly extinct in the wild. The Asian species are poached heavily for their scales and meat (despite having been scientifically proven to have no medicinal value at all), while the African species are hunted as bushmeat. 

Read along to find out more about each of these adorable pine-cones!

The Indian Pangolin

The Indian Pangolin is found across most of the Indian sub-continent. Pangolin pups often piggy-back on their mothers' tails as shown in this illustration. The Indian Pangolin is endangered and is one of the most trafficked pangolins.

The Chinese Pangolin

The Chinese Pangolin is one of the world's rarest pangolins. It is identified by a visible external ear. Its range extends from North-East India to Southern China and Indo-China. It is critically endangered.

The Sunda Pangolin

The Sunda Pangolin occurs through South-East Asia in forests and plantations. It is an arboreal pangolin, spending most of its time on trees. It is listed as critically endangered.

The Philippine Pangolin

Also called the Balintong, the Philippine Pangolin is endemic to the Palawan province of the Philippines. This species too prefers trees over land. It is listed as endangered.

The Tree Pangolin

The Tree Pangolin is an African species of pangolin found in equatorial forests. As the name suggests, it is an arboreal animal, and is the most common among forest pangolins in Africa. It is listed as vulnerable.

The Temminck's Ground Pangolin

The Ground Pangolin is the only species found in eastern and southern Africa, and inhabits scrubs and savannas. It is a terrestrial species, and is 'vulnerable' on the Red List.

The Giant Pangolin

The largest of all pangolins, the Giant Pangolin occurs in equatorial Africa. It possesses the ability to walk upright, using its tail for balance. It is listed as vulnerable.

The Long-tailed Pangolin

The Long-tailed Pangolin is an arboreal forest pangolin found in equatorial Africa, and is the smallest of all extant pangolins. The long-tail is prehensile, and aids the pangolins arboreal lifestyle. The Long-tailed Pangolin is vulnerable owing to hunting for bushmeat, and deforestation.

The map and the pangolins are available as posters, laptop skins, tees, coffee mugs, notebooks and a lot more. Orders outside of India can be placed on my webstore here. If you are in India, you can purchase the following products by placing your orders on e-mail at rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com-

A1 poster- Pangolin Map of the World (594 x 841mm)- Rs. 1800 each

A2 Poster- Pangolin Map of the World (419 x 594mm)- Rs. 1200 each

A3 Poster (loose)- Pangolins of the World- Rs. 500 for the first copy and Rs. 200 for the second copy onwards 

Mounted poster (A3- Rs. 2000 each, A4- Rs. 1500 each)

Coffee Mug (Compilation)- Rs. 850

Personal Diary- Pangolins of the World (Hard Cover, A5, 150 pages)-  Rs. 800

Fridge Magnets (65 x 65 mm, Printed in sets of 4)- Any 4 pangolins for Rs. 1200

Coasters (3.5" x 3.5", Printed in sets of 6)- Any 6 pangolins for Rs. 800

(A3 poster of the pangolins of the world)

Chhattisgarh under'mined'

National news aside, some extremely 'anti-national' developments are going unnoticed. Here is a cartoon on the violation of the Forest Rights Act by the government to facilitate mining in Chhatisgarh. I'm giving away print resolution files of the cartoon free of charge on request, which you may place on e-mail (rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com)

Peacock Pop-up

One on peacock courtship from my Gocomics page today.

Leopards in stress

One on the recent situations cause by human-leopard conflict that the media often misquotes as 'leopard attacks'. More often than not, it is the stress caused to wild animals by crowds and poor and untimely management of people rather than the animal that lead to a crisis. 

The cartoon appears on my column with The Hindu BLink today.

Darwin and the Beagle

Here's one from my Gocomics page today, for all you evolutionary biologists and Darwin fans on the site. Happy Darwin Day!

Leopards and Highways

And the story goes on. Cities keep expanding into wild territory, highways cutting across national parks keep widening, park boundaries keep diminishing, and man-animal conflict elevates to alarming levels. 

The cartoon appears on my Gocomics page today, and the Tigerlink journal.

The Endemics of Sri Lanka

Happy Sri Lankan Independence Day! Did you know that the gorgeous island of Sri Lanka has one of the highest rates of endemism in the world? 16% of its fauna is found nowhere else on the planet! As with most biodiversity-rich islands, several of Sri Lankan endemics are either endangered or are cruising towards endangerment owing to habitat loss.

Here are 22 of the species I found the most amusing (the actual list of endemic animals is over 500). The collage includes the National Bird of Sri Lanka, the Junglefowl, the Sri Lankan Birdwing, which is the National Butterfly, and two of the most striking lizards in the world, among others. 

Prints can be purchased as posters, art prints, t-shirts, mugs, laptop skins, notebooks and more, from my webstore here.

If you're in India you can place orders for the following products by mailing me on rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com-

A1 poster (594 x 841mm)- Rs. 1800 each

A2 Poster (419 x 594mm)- Rs. 1200 each

A3 Poster - Rs. 500 for the first copy and Rs. 200 for the second copy onwards 

Tshirt (S,M,L,XL)- Rs. 1300

Coffee Mug (Compilations)- Rs. 850

Personal Diary (Hard Cover, A5, 150 pages)-  Rs. 800

Mines and elephants

The result of a clash between two giants is always the defeat of one. This holds true for coal and elephants too, particularly in the state of Chhattisgarh, which has one of the largest open cast mines, and not surprisingly, also the most alarming rates of man-animal conflict. 

Here's one from my weekend column with BLink.