Black Softshell Turtle

Happy #WorldTurtleDay ! Delighted to share the first of two comics I created for the impact campaign of Gunjan Menon's National Geographic film, 'Looking for Lao Mura', about the critically endangered Black Softshell Turtle. Doubly chuffed that the comics will be up on display in Assamese locally! In collaboration with Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises of India

So grateful for this opportunity, Gunjan, Anuja Mital and Pradeep Hegde!

Biodiversity Map of Assam

(Click on the images for a larger view)

Easily among the states with the richest biodiversity in India, Assam is a true jewel in the North-eastern crown. Its floodplains, both ravaged and replenished by the mighty Brahmaputra, are home to Indian giants like the Asian Elephant and the One-horned Rhinoceros (the state animal), the world's smallest pig- the Pygmy Hog, as well as endangered birds like the Black-breasted Parrotbill. Its forest streams and marshes offer refuge to its state bird, the rare White-winged Wood Duck, and its hills house endemic species like the Cachar Bulbul and the Assam Laughingthrush. Assam's birdlife is much sought after and celebrated by birdwatchers from India and abroad, boasting of nearly 700 bird species, made possible by the merger of the dense Himalayan foothills and the fertile Brahmaputra floodplains in the state. Assam's cities and towns protect rare inhabitants like the Greater Adjutant Stork, and lakes like Maguri Bheel (unfortunately ravaged by an oil fire last year) are home to large numbers of migratory waterfowl, including the critically endangered Baer's Pochard. And its hill forests are home to some of the rarest Indian primates: the Golden Langur, the Hoolock Gibbon, and the Pig-tailed and Stump-tailed Macaques. Assam also has the highest number of freshwater turtle and tortoise species for any state in India!

The compass of the map pays tribute to Hargilla Army, an all-women team dedicated to conserving the Greater Adjutant, led by Ms. Purnima Barman. Thanks to Ms. Archita Baruah Bhattacharya and WWF India for commissioning the illustration! (Copyrights belong to WWF India)

China's Superdam on Brahmaputra

China's upcoming 'superdam' on the Brahmaputra will have severe environmental consequences downstream. Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day. 

Maguri Burning

Maguri Bheel has been the wintering ground for hundreds of migratory waterbirds , including the critically endangered Baer's Pochard, which visits India all the way from Siberian latitudes. What will these birds do when they return to a burned Maguri Bheel, courtesy of Oil India's oil blow out? Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day. 

Golden Tiger

Earlier this month, pictures of a Golden Tiger from Kaziranga took over the internet, and what should have been a cause for worry became a cause for celebration. Comic from my column with The Hindu, ahead of World Tiger Day.

Kaziranga Flood Relief

Homage to all the people, organization and forces responsible for making Kaziranga bounce back after every flood season. Comic from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

Oil Spill at Baghjan Assam

Chances are that you have not heard or read about a major ecological and public health crisis brewing in Eastern Assam on any mainstream media channel. A crude oil pipe blowout caused a major oil spill at Baghjan, and the lives of marsh and aquatic wildlife, as well as villagers are now at grave risk, courtesy of Oil India Limited, the Indian government's oil extraction company.

How is this related to the ongoing national environmental crisis? By now you may be vaguely familiar with the many disastrous projects being planned in North-east India (such as a dam in the seismically sensitive Dibang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh, and a coal mine in Assam's Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve). You may also be familiar with the MoEFCC's proposed revisions to the Environment Impact Assessment protocol, which seeks to do away with EIA for major projects. OIL has a record of violating Eco-sensitive zone boundaries and constructing pipelines even before due environmental clearances are obtained. To put it simply, the EIA revisions could legalize all of this. Read more about the draft EIA and what you can do to oppose it here.

Dehing Patkai Mine

In support of the student protests against coal mining in Assam's Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve. Why are we not demanding the sacking of India's worst environment minister (who by the way also heads the National Board for Wildlife AND the ministry of heavy industries)?

Wild Buffaloes and Hybridization

Hybridization is one of the biggest threats to the endangered Asiatic Wild Buffalo. Comic from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

Pygmy Hog Giant Problems

Meet the world's smallest wild pig, Assam's Pygmy Hog, whose problems are anything but pygmy. From my column with Roundglass Sustain.

Uses of the Hoolock Gibbon's Really Long Arms

A comic on the amazing Hoolock Gibbon from my column with Mid-Day. Prints available on my webstore here. For orders within India, email me on rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com.

I first saw Hoolock Gibbons with my brother in Borjan Sanctuary in Eastern Assam, and thiiiiiiiiis is how excited we got!

Kaziranga Floods

On the floods in Kaziranga from my column with Mid-Day today. A big thanks to all the heroes from the Forest Department and the various NGOs in Assam, working to ease the conflict between people and stranded animals.

Amur Falcons in North East India

Very rarely does conservation news sound positive, but one such course of events is that of communities from villages in North East India coming together to save the Amur Falcon. Tiny birds of prey, the Amur Falcons make a brief halt in India every winter, on their arduous migratory flight from East Asia to Africa. After photographers documented the mass massacre of these birds at local markets in 2012-13, immediate and massive conservation action followed, and NGOs as well as forest departments worked tirelessly to spread information and awareness about the falcons. One such effort was led by Ms. Bano Haralu, managing trustee of the Nagaland Wildlife and Biodiversity Trust, along with Rokohebi Kuotsu, biologist Shashank Dalvi and Ramki Sreenivasan of Conservation India, in the Wokha district of Nagaland. In a place like Nagaland where hunting is prevalent even today, this was no easy feat to achieve, and several other regions which have witnessed hunting in the past have now taken a cue from Ms. Haralu's work, adopting conservation measures to save the birds. Amur Falcons are insectivores, preying on dragonflies in large quantities and offering pest control services to agriculture. To study their migration better, hunters and scientists came together in Nagaland, to capture and satellite-tag three of these birds. Recently, Pangti, a village in Nagaland erected a monolith to commemorate the arrival of Amur Falcons, and others in Assam, Manipur and Meghalaya have been conducting festivals to observe the occasion, which not only draw crowds of tourists and birdwatchers to the areas, but also ensure a safe passage of the tens of thousands of Amur Falcons that fly over North East India. If this could be replicated for all other wild animals that are still hunted in these regions, the North East could well be a conservation spearhead in the near future!

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