So when are you having a baby

On overpopulation from my column with Sunday Mid-Day. Enjoy the comic while I take cover from the impending onslaught by parents from around the world!

Pangolin Defence

A cartoon on the Pangolin's defence mechanism from my page with Gocomics. Also, this is exactly why the Pangolin is my spirit animal!  

Penguins and Climate Change

The Royal, King and Emperor Penguins discuss climate change. From my Gocomics page today.

Penguins of the World

It's World Penguin Day! Know your penguin species with this brand new poster, that enlists 21 of the described species with their respective IUCN status. Aquatic and flightless birds with remarkable swimming adaptations, penguins inhabit the Southern hemisphere (except the Galapagos Penguin). They range in size from the 45 kg Emperor Penguin to the 1.5 kg Little Penguin. Penguins are threatened by habitat loss and climate change, and the African, Galapagos and Yellow-eyed are some of the most endangered penguin species.

Get the artwork as prints, apparel and a wide range of merchandise on my webstore here. 

For orders within India, e-mail me on rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com. The range of products for Indian orders is as follows-

A0 Posters (Matte surface, loose)- Rs. 3500 for the first print, 3000 for the second print onwards

A1 Posters (Matte surface, loose)- Rs. 3000 for the first print, 2500 for the second print onwards

A2 Posters (Matte surface, loose)- Rs. 1200 each

Mounted Posters (A3- Individual species and compilation)- Rs. 2000

Loose Posters (A3- Individual species and compilation)- Rs. 500 for the first copy and Rs. 200 for the second copy onwards

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

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

Coffee Mug (Compilation)- Rs. 850
Tshirts (compilation)- Rs. 1300 (White, Cotton, roundneck, sizes- S,M,L,XL)

Wild Tips to beat the Summer Heat

Beat the heat this summer using these simple tips from wild animals! The comic appears in my column with Sunday Mid-day.

Prints on my webstore here (for orders within India, mail me on rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com).

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Happy Earth Day! Did you know that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is thrice the size of France now?

The cartoon appears in my Gocomics page. 

Pink Animals

Janelle Monae's 'Pynk' is a sensation already. Here are some 'Pynk' animals sporting her trademark vagina pants. Do you know of any more 'Pynk' animals?

Prints and apparel available on my webstore here.

Research in Translation- Green Turtles at Lanyu Island

The first comic in my series with Current Conservation magazine, 'Research in Translation', that aims to re-tell scientific papers in the form of comic strips, deals with a rather complex issue. Green Turtles in Taiwan had been having a relatively peaceful time owing to a cultural taboo of the Yami/Tao indigenous people, who perceived them as evil, and avoided any contact with them. However, recent conservation measures have back-fired, provoking the ire of the Yami community. 

Credits for the paper: Tzu-Ming Liu. 2017. Unexpected threat from conservation to endangered species: Reflections from the front-line staff on sea turtle conservation. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 60:2255-2271.

Prof. Andrea D. Phillott is a sea turtle biologist teaching conservation biology, ecology, and environmental studies at FLAME University in Pune, India.

Are you a conservation biologist looking to simplify your study for the layman? Follow the steps listed here and have your paper converted into a comic. 

(With thanks to Manini Bansal, Nandini Velho and Kartik Shanker)

Bird Bowls

Don't forget to place a water bowl for birds this summer! The comic appears in my column with Sunday Mid-day.

Styrofoam Poles

We all know that marine debris is a growing environmental threat, but do you know that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is now three times the size of France? 

The comic apears in my column with RoundGlass Samsara.

Deserts and Arid Ecosystems

Deserts and arid landscapes are fully functional ecosystems in themselves, not needing any kind of artificial reforestation. This is a fact, among many others that the National Forest Policy draft of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change overlooks. Other than proposing to turn 'degraded' land into commercial plantations, the draft inclines towards the privatization of government-owned forest land and shows a preference for commercial monoculture over natural forests, while sidelining the participation of  communities in conservation.

The draft is open for public review on the MoeF website here. I request you all to send in your comments on the draft to digfpolicy-mef@nic.in, jitesh.kumar@nic.in and toforestpolicy@gmail.com  before the 14th of April.

France and pesticides

France's love affair with pesticides has taken a huge toll on its bird population, with the once common species like the Whitethroat, Ortolan Bunting, Eurasian Skylark and the Meadow Pipit (depicted here) having almost disappeared.

The comic appears in my column with Sunday Mid-day.

Hong the Swan Goose- Mascot for Beidaihe Wetland Park

Meet Hong the Swan Goose, the official mascot for Beidaihe National Wetland Park in Quinhuangdo, China. The Swan Goose, threatened by hunting, habitat loss and hybridization, was chosen as the official mascot to bring attention to its 'Vulnerable' status on the IUCN red list, and to popularize the bird and the park among birders and wildlife enthusiasts in China. 

(Some preliminary character designs before we zeroed in on the one in the centre). 

Thanks to the park management at Beidaihe for commissioning me for the project, and to my friend Yuli Yang of CNN Hong Kong, for helping me come up with a name for the mascot!

Firefly Cartoons for Arastirmaci Cocuk

This month in my column with the Turkish kids' magazine Arastirmaci Cocuk, I speak about fireflies! This science magazine published from Ankara attempts to highlight one wild animal in every issue with cartoons and illustrations. The cartoons originally appear in Turkish. 

'Seni Seviyorum' by the way, means 'I love you!' 

Mimic Octopus April Fools'

The Mimic Octopus takes mimicry to a whole new level, mimicking other marine organisms in colour, appearance and even texture, using its pigment sacs called chromatophores. Here's a mimic octopus wishing you a happy April Fools'! The comic appears in my column with Sunday Mid-day.