Snow Leopards in Bhutan

With a 40% rise in Snow Leopard numbers in Bhutan, both the country and the cat have cause for celebration! Comic from my column with Roundglass Sustain. 

Happy World Snow Leopard Day!

Himalayan Wildlife Celebrates the Rhododendron Bloom

Come March, and red Rhododendron flowers can be seen painting the Himalayas red their vibrance. Here are some Himalayan animals celebrating the bloom, and wishing my readers a happy Holi. Cartoon from my column with Roundglass Sustain. 

IUCN Red List and the Black necked Crane

The Black-necked Crane, a bird of immense cultural importance in Himalayan mythology and religion, is being considered for downlisting from 'Vulnerable' to 'Least Concern' on the IUCN Red List. Conservationists across the crane's range countries (India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Pakistan) fear that this move may take the gravity of conservation threats to the bird (climate change, habitat loss, dams, melting glaciers, feral dogs and tourism pressures) away, and could make it easier for governments to allow linear intrusions along the crane's habitat. 

An article by Narendra Patil contesting the downlisting proposition can be read here. Birdlife and the IUCN are accepting comments on the matter until tomorrow, on this forum. 

Cartoon from my column with Roundglass Sustain. 

The White bellied Heron

Could a bird that you never even knew existed, be an indicator of the relationship between two neighbouring countries? The bird itself tells you how.

The comic appears in my column with The Hindu.

Wild Bhutan

I'm just back from my second trip to Bhutan and could not resist the temptation of drawing wildlife from this wonderland again! Here's a collage of Bhutan's wildlife- 22 of the myriad of wild fauna found in the Cloud Kingdom.

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

For orders within India, please view the range of products available below-

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

(email your orders to rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com, mentioning a postal address and contact number for delivery. Payments are accepted via NEFT or PayTM)

Note that this list is far from accurate or complete, but does cover some of the country's most prominent fauna, such as its national animal, the Golden Takin; its national bird, the Common Raven; the Black-necked Crane, an important bird in Bhutanese folklore, and so on. For a more comprehensive list and distribution of the wildlife of Bhutan, please go through my 2016 project with WWF Bhutan, The Wildlife Map of Bhutan.

Barn Swallows in the Himalayas

A comic on Barn Swallows nesting in the Himalayas from my column with Saevus magazine. With this comic, I complete six years of my association with Saevus, which also reaches its six year milestone with its March 2018 issue! Congrats to Saevus, and a big thanks for their continued association with Green Humour.

The comic takes inspiration from Ms. Janaki Lenin's beautiful article on Barn Swallows, published in The Hindu.

The Wildlife Map of Bhutan

(Click on the image for a larger view)

Last year, I travelled through the most beautiful country in the world, gathering references for my second wildlife map of a country after India. Here's The Wildlife Map of Bhutan, commissioned by WWF Bhutan!

Bhutan's rich natural heritage stems from the fact that 72% of its land is under forest cover! This is no ordinary feat. In addition to this, Bhutan is also a record holder for being the world's first carbon- negative country!

The map has 115 illustrated elements depicting not just Bhutan's wildlife in detail, but also its flora, the lifestyle of its indigenous people, some of its iconic heritage buildings, and its geography. Every single illustrated element is a complete artwork in itself, to be used by WWF Bhutan in its various awareness endeavours. Here are some illustrated elements from the map-

The fauna of Bhutan- seen here are Bhutan's National butterfly- the Ludlow's Bhutan Glory, along with its mammals- the national animal, the Golden Takin, Golden Langur, Bhutan Giant Flying Squirrel, Himalayan Marmot, Pallas' Cat, Golden Cat, Himalayan Goral, Small-clawed Otter, Serow, Bharal, Red Panda, Marbled Cat, Bengal Tiger, Leopard, Eurasian Lynx, Dhole, Clouded Leopard, Himalayan Red Fox, Spotted Linsang, Himalayan Black Bear, Asian Elephant, Capped Langur, Large-eared Pika, Leopard Cat, Snow Leopard, Himalayan Musk Deer, Chinese Pangolin, Himalayan Crestless Porcupine, Asian Elephant and Tibetan Wolf.

The birds of Bhutan- its national bird, the Raven; a bird revered in Bhutanese mythology and folklore- the Black-necked Crane, with Blood Pheasant, Blyth's Kingfisher, Cutia, Himalayan Owl, Grey-crowned Prinia, Ward's Trogon, Brown Parrotbill, Beautiful Nuthatch, Ferruginous Duck, Great Hornbill, Chestnut-breasted Partridge, Great Barbet, Jerdon's Baza, the critically endangered White-bellied Heron, Greater Yellownape, Himalayan Monal, Himalayan Griffon, Rufous-necked Hornbill, Mrs. Gould's Sunbird, Purple Cochoa, Satyr and Temminck's Tragopans, Yellow-billed Blue Magpie, Tibetan Snowcock, Yellow-rumped Honeyguide and Wedge-billed Babbler.

The Flora of Bhutan- its national tree- the Bhutan Cypress, the national flower, Blue Poppy, with spruce, firs, junipers, birch, rhododendrons, yew, maple, cycas, Bulbophyllum and Sal.

The people of Bhutan- Archery (Bhutan's national sport), Tsechu (the harvest festival and masked dance), textile weaving, harvesting of cordyceps, Bhutanese monks, red-rice farming, basket weaving, highland Shertukpen and Monpa families.

Some iconic structures of Bhutan- Paro Taktsang (Tiger's Nest Monastery), with Tashichhu Dzong, Trongsa Dzong, Mongar Dzong, Wangdue Dzong, Trashigang Dzong, Singye Dzong, Lhuntse Dzong, Khurjey Lakhang, and the mountains Gangkar Puensum (Bhutan's tallest), Jhomolhari and Kulakangri.

Some mythical creatures that feature on the map- Garuda (top left), the Snow Lion (top right), Druk (centre, on the map's compass), tiger and Yeti (bottom right).

A high resolution file of the map can be downloaded from the WWF Bhutan website. A huge thanks to the amazing team at WWF Bhutan, for hosting me in Bhutan and for making the project possible! To celebrate Prince Jigme Namgyel Wangchuk's first birthday, WWF Bhutan and Prime Minister Mr. Tshering Tobgay unveiled the artwork on the 5th of February-

(All copyrights to the artwork belong to WWF Bhutan)

You Takin to Me

The Takin is a goat-antelope found in the Himalayas, and the national animal of Bhutan!

Here's a tribute to one of my all-time favourite classics, Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver, starring Robert De Niro. T-shirts, posters and merchandise available on my webstore here. For orders within India, mail me on rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com. 

Bhutan's Carbon Neutrality

I'm just back from Bhutan where I spent a week gathering references for a project. The world knows Bhutan for its heritage, architecture and natural beauty, but not many are aware of the effort that the country makes to preserve its natural wonders. Here is a comic about Bhutan's strict carbon neutrality policy, with inputs from Prime Minister Mr. Tshering Tobgay's popular Ted talk.

The world owes Bhutan a big Kadrin Chhe La (thank you in Dzongkha)! The comic appears in my Sunday column with Mid-Day today.