Damselflies and Us

Damselflies and us. Comic from my column with The Hindu.

Suggestions for Environment Minister

How could India's environment ministry go back from being a joke to a ministry? Here are a few of my humble suggestions. Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day. 

The date for sending objections to the Draft EIA 2020 is almost here (June 30th). Register your responses using this link.

Who Killed Rafiki

As the world mourns the killing of Rafiki, a popular silverback Mountain Gorilla from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, it is time for the world to wake up to the fact that grey areas in conservation need nuanced understanding and immediate attention. While we have traditionally been quick to blame poaching and poachers, the wildlife conservation narrative around the world needs to go past that, and address the social issues that drive wildlife crimes. This Mongabay interview of Gladys Kalema Zikusoka, a conservationist working on Mountain Gorillas, sheds timely light on many such 'grey areas' in conservation in Uganda, the knowledge of which can be applied to many such cases in India and around the world.  

Comic from my Gocomics page. 

MoEFCC on Social Media vs Real Life

As the Environment Ministry continues greenwashing its environmental crimes using its social media accounts, opposition to the ministry as well as the Draft EIA is gaining momentum. 50 student organizations across India led by Ashoka University have written to the MoEFCC to either strengthen the EIA or scrap the new draft notification.

Have you registered your comments on the draft EIA yet? Visit this link  or this petition to get started. The clock is ticking, with only 5 more days to go for the deadline. Thanks to organizations like Let India Breathe and Fridays for Future for putting these resources together online.

Cartoon from my Gocomics page. 

Here's a bonus cartoon on the recent coal auctions:

Merchandise for Sikkim Forest Department

Some merchandise I designed for three parks in Sikkim: Fambonglho, Kyongnodsla and Pangolakha. These will be available as various souvenirs and collectibles at the three sanctuaries. A big thanks to the dynamic DFO Ms. Dechen Lachungpa for commissioning me!

A Conservationist Plays Duck Hunt

A wildlife conservationist plays 'Duck Hunt'. Cartoon from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

The Classic Indian Environmental Manel

On gender inequality in environmental panels, from my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

Drinking with the Sandgrouse Dad

This Fathers' Day, meet daddy extraordinaire: the Sandgrouse! Cartoon from my column with The Hindu. Happy Fathers' Day to dads and sandgrouses around the world. 

Diego the Galapagos Giant Tortoise

Diego, the legendary Galapagos Giant Tortoise who is credited with single-handedly pulling his species back from extinction thanks to his libido, has retired at the age of 100, and has returned to his native island of Espanol from the Galapagos National Park's breeding programme at Santa Cruz. Comic from my Gocomics page.

World Albatross Day

On albatrosses and longline fishing from my column with Roundglass Sustain. Hundreds of albatrosses and other sea birds get caught as longline bycatch every year. In recent years, better cooperation between conservation organizations and fishermen has resulted in reduced mortality, by the application of simple measures like streamer lines.

The cartoon is also a small tribute to my favourite poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, which I have always interpreted as an exploration of the relationship between man and the forces of nature.

India Coal Auction

The Indian Government intensifies its war on the environment by auctioning forests in Central India off for coal mining, several to mines with no environmental clearance. This comes just a week after the fossil fuel related disaster at Baghjan Assam. 

Visit the link here to take action against the DraftEIA2020, which gives the government and industries impunity to plunder our forests. 

Spinner Dolphin Coaching

A Spinner Dolphin teaches spin bowling in my column with Roundglass Sustain. 

Albatrosses of the World

Know your Albatrosses this World Albatross Day (19th June)! Renowned for their incredible wingspans and ability to soar long distances at sea, albatrosses have long fascinated seamen and birders alike. 22 species are recognized by the IUCN, ranging across the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific. Albatrosses are some of the longest-living birds in the world, and 'Wisdom' a Laysan Albatross is the oldest banded wild bird. Albatrosses are threatened severely by longline fishing, feral animals in their nesting grounds, overfishing and habitat loss.

Prints of the albatross compilation are available as a wide range of apparel and merchandise on my webstore. 

The Great Indian Conservation Symposium

On the conspicuous absence of tribal and indigenous voices from The Great Indian Conservation Symposium. Comic from my column with The Hindu.

LGBTQ+ Wildlife

Meet just a few of the hundreds of (known) LGBTQ+ wildlife species, in my column with Sunday Mid-Day. Happy Pride Month!

Wire Snares

Illegal wire snares laid for bushmeat are killing a lot more they're intended for: tigers, leopards and bears. Comic from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

Russian Oil Spill

Russia's gift to the world on World Environment Day this year: An oil spill of 20000 tons in the Arctic city of Norilsk in Russia that has turned water bodies in its path red. Nornickel, a Russian Diesel company responsible for the spill has been sacked by the government and the city of Norilsk is under an emergency. Cartoon from my Gocomics page.

Trawling versus Trolling

How bad is bottom trawling? Worse than being Twitter-trolled. That bad. Cartoon from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary under threat

Vedanthangal, India's oldest water bird sanctuary, is on the way to being denotified and opened up for industries and commercialization. The State Wildlife Board of Tamil Nadu has already cleared the proposal, which is now awaiting the National Wildlife Board's stamp (whose utter lack of commitment to conservation we are all well familiar with by now). Sun Pharma, located at just 3.7 km from the lake, is already looking to expand its industrial activities in the region. Vedanthangal is an important breeding ground for several water birds such as pelicans, storks and ibises. The proposal has met with stiff resistance and a call to withdraw it has managed to create pressure on the Govt. of Tamil Nadu. You too can voice your opposition on Twitter (#SaveVedanthangal) or on email to the CMO Tamil Nadu and the MoEFCC.

A Tamil version of the cartoon (Translated by Vishwaja and M. Yuvan):

An Uncertain Winter Film Poster

Showcasing the intricate relationship between wildife, people and cultures is a skill only a few filmmakers possess; and National Geographic fellow and documentary filmmaker Munmun Dhalaria makes that skill her very strength. Proud to have illustrated the official poster for her seminal documentary, 'An Uncertain Winter', about the women of Spiti and their relationship with their environment. Watch the trailer here.

Reduced Fishing Ban in India

It's World Oceans Day today. As the rest of the world celebrates the day with posters and messages about turtle, dolphin and shark conservation, India grapples with a more cardinal issue: the reduction of the fishing ban period along India's coastal waters in a bid to counter the impacts of the COVID lockdown on our fisheries. It just takes putting two and two together to see how marine conservation is linked with the welfare of fishworkers, and a blow to one means a blow to the other. 

The Grey Mullet fish mulls out loud in my column with The Hindu.

Shark Fin Trade and the Fishing Industry

Last month, a shipment of 28 tons of shark fin was seized in Hong Kong, setting a new world record for shark fin trade. This came from 38500 sharks from the endangered thresher and silky sharks, and was traced all the way back to the Ecuador. This goes on to show how ineffective bans and regulations can be when there is a lack of enforcement. Although unlicensed trade of shark fin is illegal in Hong Kong, trade with a license and consumption are not, making it the world's largest consumer of shark fin (followed by China, Singapore and Malaysia).

Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

Elephant Death in Kerala

Cartoons on the recent death of an elephant in Kerala by ingesting a fruit stuffed with a cracker caused massive outrage across India.

The Small Tree Frog

Small Tree Frogs, much like a few other tree-dwelling frogs, make nests for their eggs by rolling leaves into tubes! These tubes are strategically located over the surface of a stream or a pool so that the tadpoles enter the water on emerging. Now imagine what an irregular monsoon could do to a breeding cycle as fragile as this one. Like many other frogs endemic to the Western Ghats, this species too is endangered because of habitat loss and climate change.

An Amphibian Week special comic from my column with Saevus Magazine.  

Mollem National Park and the Flame throated Bulbul

Our government continues its onslaught on our environment, with three new projects approved within a single sanctuary in Goa, an issue that the mainstream media has been ignoring for a while now. Social media uproar has been the only means of creating media pressure around environmental issues, and I request readers to speak about this on all social media platforms available to them.

(Konkani translation courtesy: Manoj Halarnekar and Sherry Fernandes)

Green Sea Slug

Meet the Green Sea Slug, among the few animals that photosynthesize! Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

Home Biodiversity in Lockdown

Now that India is preparing to lift the COVID lockdown, here's looking back at how I spent the lockdown unearthing creatures from my backyard that were new to me, in collaboration with my pets Srishti and Sakshi. I have been illustrating some of these creatures as part of a self-assigned ongoing series called 'Home Biodiversity', which you can go through here. A special thanks to my friend Vena Kapoor for answering all spider-related queries with the patience and composure of a spider!

Comic from my column with The Hindu.