Meet the Hoolock Gibbon

I first met Hoolock Gibbons earlier this year in eastern Assam, and instantly fell in love with the primate! Characterized by its (really) long arms which it uses for brachiation, the Hoolock Gibbon is one animal I'd love to be! Unfortunately, habitat loss poses a grave threat to the animal today, that needs vast stretches of rainforest habitat to survive.

The comic appears in my weekend column with Mid-Day.

Giraffe Species Splits

The Giraffe has recently been split into four species- the Northern, Southern, Masai and Reticulated Giraffes! From my Gocomics page today.

Conservation Threats to the Gangetic Dolphin

The more we pollute the Ganga and the more dams we build over it, the more our national aquatic animal, the Gangetic Dolphin, inches towards extinction. From my column with Mid-Day today.

The Lakes of Bangalore

On the plight of Bangalore's disappearing lakes from my column with The Hindu BLink today. 

The Wildlife of Karnataka- an illustrated map

(Copyrights- WWF India. Click on the image for a larger view)

One of my recent assignments for WWF India was to create an illustrated map of Karnataka's wildlife as an interactive illustration to engage school kids in the state. Located in southern India, Karnataka is among India's most diverse regions, both in terms of wildlife as well as geography, that is comprised broadly of the Western Ghats (and the famed Nilgiris), the Deccan Plateau and the Karavalli coast. The resulting topography makes for a unique combination of rainforests, semi-arid landscape, grasslands, swamps, marshes, coasts, rocky terrain and river basins all within a single state!

With some of the best eco-tourism and wildlife conservation services in India, the state of Karnataka houses 5 national parks and several other protected areas, the most popular among these being Kabini, Kudremukh, BR Hills, Bandipur, Nagarhole, Dandeli-Anshi, Ranganthitu Bird Sanctuary, and Banerghatta. Lesser known but equally interesting places include Daroji Sloth Bear sanctuary and Ramnagara (India's only vulture sanctuary). And as you might guess, the state is among India's most biodiverse regions, home to rainforest dwellers like the endangered Lion-tailed Macaques, hornbills, elephants, the King Cobra, and several endangered rainforest frogs; as well as inhabitants of scrubs and grasslands such as Blackbucks, Wolves and the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard. 

The map has been printed as an interactive chart, in which the animals and trees appear in circular cut-outs. Clues for the habitat and distribution of each animal are provided beneath the illustrations, to help the kids place the animals and trees on the map accurately. A big thanks to WWF India for commissioning me for the project!

Sustainable Travel Tips from the Arctic Tern

Be a responsible tourist; learn from the world's most experienced traveler- the Arctic Tern! (The Arctic Tern is the world's longest distance migrant, flying from the Arctic to Antarctica and back, each year!)

The compilation appears on my page with Saevus magazine this month. And just so you have these reminders at your disposal, the tips are available as a poster that you can get from my webstore here. (Orders within India can be placed on e-mail: rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com)

Zika Pesticide results in Bee Genocide

A pesticide spray meant for Zika accidentally resulted in the death of over three million bees in South Carolina recently. This comic appears on my Gocomics page today.

Kailash Sacred Landscape- an Illustrated Map

(Click on images for a larger view)

The Kailash Sacred Landscape is distributed across three countries- India, Nepal and China; and is not only an important religious site, but also a haven for alpine and trans-Himalayan wildlife. The apex of the region is Mount Kailash (called Gang Rinpoche in Tibet), a Tibetan mountain sacred to five religions- the Hindus, Buddhists, Bons, Sikhs and Jains. Several important wildlife sanctuaries and biodiversity hotspots lie within the region, such as the Api Nampa Conservation Area in the Far-Western Developmental Region of Nepal, and the Askot Musk Der Sanctuary in Kumaon, Uttarakhand in India.

The map was illustrated for ICIMOD's Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KSLCDI), that aims at ecosystem conservation and strengthening trans-boundary co-operation by working with local communities. Research for my project took me trekking along the western Indo-Nepalese border, to ICIMOD's field sites in some of the most scenic and remote locations that I never knew of, such as Askot, the villages of Himkhola, Nakot and Jajurali; and witnessing some of the most majestic Himalayan wildlife such as Bearded Vultures, Himalayan Griffons, Gorals and Leopard Cats! The map aims to present the fauna and the various communities of the region as a single, inter-dependent unit, and to create an at-a-glance reference of all important elements- parks, mountains, pilgrimage sites and passes that comprise the region. Here are some previews from the map-

The fauna of KSL- the Himalayan Red Fox, Kiang, Bharal, Wild Yak, Himalayan Musk Deer, Himalayan Monal, Snow Leopard, Leopard Cat, Himalayan Goral, Yellow-billed Blue Magpie, Black-necked Crane, Bearded Vulture, Himalayan Tahr, Tibetan Sand Fox and the rare Himalayan Brown Bear.

Some people of KSL- seen here are Tibetan millet farmers, a Hindu Sadhu, Buddhist and Bon pilgrims, Tibetan monks, a Tibetan Yak herder, honey harvesters from Kumaon, wool weavers from Khar in Nepal, dancers from Uttarakhand, Churya (butter-fruit) collectors from Uttarakhand and Nepalese women dancing for 'Teej' (a Hindu festival).

Some important sites in KSL- the town of Grabyang, the Yam Dwaar, the Halji Gumba, Haatkalika Temple, Mount Kailash, the town of Darchen, the Yalbang Gumba, the Trugo Gumba and Narayan Ashram.

The project is my first trans-boundary illustration! A big thanks to ICIMOD's fantastic team at Kathmandu for commissioning me for this, and assisting me with timely references and information throughout the project; and to my friend Sumit Arya, a bird scientist at the WII studying population densities of Himalayan birds, for taking me around in Kumaon.

(Copyrights to all images in the post belong to ICIMOD)

The Peregrine Falcon

Behold the fastest creature on earth- the Peregrine Falcon! The comic appears in my column with The Daily Planet, I mean Mid-Day today (!).

Prints available on my webstore here. 

Something to Chew on- a book on food

'Something to Chew on'- a book on the history, variety, production, cultural and environmental aspects of food in India that I worked on for Kalpavriksh is out now! The book has been authored by Sujatha Padmanabhan, Tanya Majumdar, Shibha Desor and Sharmila Dey; and has more than eighty cartoons by me. The book is priced at Rs. 150 and can be ordered by mailing Kalpavriksh at kvbooks@gmail.com, or can be purchased on Amazon here. 

Here are some of the cartoons from the book. (The cover art is inspired by Larry Gonick's legendary 'Cartoon Guide' series)

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(On food in the Stone Age)

(The Fertile Crescent)

(Tribal food in India- The famous red ant chutney made by the Gonds of Chhattisgarh)

(The environmental aspects of food- on palm oil)

(On chemicals in food)

(On the carbon footprint of food)