A Rare Media Interview with a Reintroduced Cheetah

A rare media interview with a reintroduced cheetah. From my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

The Cheetah in India Seeks Advice

New to India, the Cheetah seeks advice from a grassland veteran, the Striped Hyena. Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

Cheetah Naming Contest

The Government of India has recently announced a cheetah naming contest, to assign names to the eight African Cheetahs introduced to Kuno National Park. The cheetahs thought they'd participate too!

If you have better ideas, you can try your hand at naming cheetahs on https://www.mygov.in/cheetahnames/

The Cheetah Comes to India

Amid much pomp and show, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday, African Cheetahs from Namibia will be flown in a specially decorated aircraft to India today, to be reintroduced to Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, which was initially prepared to establish a second population of Asiatic Lions. Read all my cartoons on the issue here. 

Big Cats Big Jokes 2022

I first drew a cartoon about a Bengal Tiger and an Asiatic Lion discussing cheetah reintroduction back in 2010, when the idea was first broached. Now that it is just around the corner, it was time for a re-hash.

From my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine. 

Collarwaali

A tribute to the tigress Collarwaali from Pench Tiger Reserve, who died at the grand age of 17 recently. I had the privilege of meeting her twice. Cartoon from my Roundglass Sustain column.

Cheetah Introduction and the Asiatic Lion

As India prepares to introduce African Cheetahs to Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary, Nature TV News speaks to the dumped ex, the Asiatic Lion. Comic from my column with The Hindu Weekend.

Diamond Mining and the Environment

The forests of Buxwaha in Madhya Pradesh, an important wildlife corridor could be lost to a diamond mine being planned by the Aditya Birla group in the region, threatening not just endangered wildlife but also tribal livelihoods. A petition in support of the forest is on Change.org here. If you wish to use the Hindi version of the cartoon, please write to me on rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com . 

Bandhavgarh Hot Air Balloon

On Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve launching India's first hot air balloon safari, from my column with The Hindu. 

Radiotagged Pangolins

Congratulations to the Forest Department of Madhya Pradesh and the @wildlifeconservationtrust for making history by radiotagging pangolins! A very proud moment for my hometown as well, as the scientist overseeing this project, Aditya Joshi, is from Nagpur . Comic from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

Asiatic Lions in Gujarat

The story of Asiatic Lions in Gujarat began as one of the greatest conservation success stories in the world, when a tiny population on the brink of extinction revived and started to flourish. But  now, the pride of Gujarat faces several new threats.

From my column with Mid-day today.

Bhoorsingh the Barasingha Returns

In a continued series of commissions for Kanha Tiger Reserve (under Field Director Mr. Sanjay Shukla), I created a few more comics, posters and artwork with the park mascot Bhoorsingh the Barasingha-

A Day in the Life of Bhoorsingh-

A Chronology of the life of Bhoorsingh-

A poster for the Kanha-Achanakmar corridor walk, conducted by the park management and WWF India-

Artwork for a playschool run by the forest department, which is named after Bhoorsingh-

A 'selfie canvas' set to be installed at tourist stops in the national park-

(click on the image for a larger view)

Thanks once again to Mr. Sanjay Shukla for his continued association with Green Humour, and for using artwork so extensively to promote Kanha!

Pachmarhi- an Illustrated Map

Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh's only hill station, is nestled on a plateau in the splendorous Satpuda Range in Central India, and hosts an impressive variety of wildlife. Dotted with several scenic waterfalls, caves and forest patches, Pachmarhi deservedly earns the title 'Queen of the Satpudas'.

Pachmarhi is not just a tourist hotspot, but an integral part of Satpuda Tiger Reserve. Here is an illustrated map commissioned by the forest department, led by Field Director Mr. Anil Nagar. Click on the images for a larger view-

Some cropped snipets from the map-

An Indian Giant Squirrel graces the map's compass. Satpuda Tiger Reserve also has this species as its official mascot!

Captain James Forsyth, a British officer and avid explorer, spotted Pachmarhi Plateau in 1857 alongwith Maj. Nathuramji Powar, and set up one of India's first forest lodges here (The Bison Lodge, illustrated in the map) and named many of its destinations. Forsyth is seen here alongside the title, with a Malabar Whistling Thrush, the Pachmarhi Dark Evening Brown butterfly, and a Gond couple. Gonds are the main tribe dwelling in the region.

Several posters were additionally created out of elements from the map-

The bird life of Pachmarhi which is unique in having species both from the Himalayas (such as the Black-crested Bulbul) as well as the Western Ghats (such as the Malabar Pied Hornbill and the Malabar Whistling Thrush), goes on to assert the Satpuda Hypothesis, that suggests that the range is a biogeographical link between the Himalayas and the Ghats.

A butterfly-lover's paradise, Pachmarhi is home both to common beauties and exotic endemics. 

Mammals of Pachmarhi.

Flora of Pachmarhi.

Some reptiles of Pachmarhi.

Tourist destinations in and around Pachmarhi.

A big thanks to the forest department of Madhya Pradesh and Mr. Anil Nagar for commissioning me for the assignment, and to my friend Puspendu Mandal, Tourism Manager at Hoshangabad for showing me around and helping me gather references for the project!

Kanha Tiger Reserve- an illustrated map

(Click on the image for a larger view)

I've often referred to Kanha Tiger Reserve as the 'Mother of Indian Forests', for the simple reason that its majesty and grandeur make for a complete Indian forest experience. The true magic of the Central Indian wilderness is here in Kanha's lush meadows and evergreen Sal forests.

This February, commissioned by Mr. Sanjay Shukla (Field Director of Kanha), the Forest Department of Madhya Pradesh, and the Saving Tiger Society, I travelled to Kanha gathering references for drawing an illustrated map of the park. The map has over 50 species of fauna found in the park, along with illustrations depicting the life of the Baiga tribe, that lives around the park. Here are some snippets from the map- 

Tha Asian Paradise Flycatcher- Madhya Pradesh's state bird, perches proudly over the compass of the map.

Some of the birds found in Kanha

Some mammals found in Kanha

Some well-known trees from Kanha. The evergreen Sal is what makes Kanha unique compared to most other deciduous forests in Central India.

The Baiga people of Kanha

A mother Northern Plains Langur carries her baby on her tummy

Kanha's pride- the endemic Hardground Barasingha

A tigress with her cubs. Inspired by a family of five tigers I met in the Mukki range of Kanha TR

A Grey Hornbill feeding his family- a female who has locked herself and her chick up in a tree hollow, to escape predation while nesting!

A Sloth Bear climbs a Crocodile Bark tree for raiding a beehive.

Three wise vultures- (from left) the Long-billed, the Red-headed and the White-backed Vulture. Kanha is home to four more species- the Eurasian Griffon, the Himalayan Griffon and the Cinereous and the Egyptian Vultures.

A pack of Dholes chasing a Chital through the meadows

Baiga dancers and musicians

Baiga women are known for their tattoos, that cover nearly the entire body! One of the illustrations briefly demonstrates the process.

The map will soon be a part of the interpretation centre at Kanha, as well as a coffee table book that is being produced by the forest department. A huge thanks to Mr. Shukla, firstly for having the vision to use artwork so extensively for promoting the park, and secondly for hosting me and helping me with constant inputs throughout the project. Thanks also to Mr. Indrajit Sengupta of the Saving Tiger Society for funding the project.

Ken Betwa River Linking

On the Ken-Betwa river-linking project from my colun with Mid-Day today.

Bhoorsingh the Barasingha

Meet Bhoorsingh the Barasingha- the official mascot for Kanha National Park (Madhya Pradesh, India)! Bhoorsingh is proud of two things- of being endemic to Kanha, and of his twelve-tined antlers!

I visited Kanha last month over another project and met the dynamic Field Director of the park, Mr. Sanjay Shukla. A real visionary that he is, Mr. Shukla was full of creative ideas about creating awareness material for Kanha, and conversations with him led us to choose the Barasingha, an endemic variety of deer, as the park's mascot. 'Bhoor' in Hindi translates to 'tawny/golden' and 'Singh', 'antlers'.

Bhoorsingh will soon be featuring in more artwork, posters and merchandise for the park management at Kanha. The Kanha Bird Survey being conducted by the forest department and Bird Count India, begins today (17th to 20th March, 2017). And of course, Bhoorsingh is the brand ambassador for the event!

More posters and artwork with our twelve-tined friend coming right up. Stay 'tined' for more!

Some more illustrations done for Bhoorsingh 'selfie stands' that will be put up at tourist halt spots in Kanha.