The Saga of the Saiga Antelope

If you too have had a long face reading about the decimation of the Saiga Antelope's populations from hunting and disease over the years, there's some news that might bring a smile to your face too! Efforts by the Kazakh government, NGOs and people have paid off enough to bring the Saiga from critically endangered to near-threatened on the IUCN Red List. In these times, that's a long jump, even for an antelope!

Not-so-fun-fact: The bird in the comic strip, a Sociable Lapwing, is a critically endangered steppe species too.

Comic for DW Envronment.

Lakshadweep versus Maldives

Lakshadweep versus Maldives. Cartoon for The Hindu.

Here's hoping that the tourism make-over of Lakshadweep, which is already grappling from mass coral bleaching and crashing fisheries, will have sustainability at its core. 

Bonus marks to each one of you who identifies the bird in the cartoon correctly!

Rediscovery of the Golden Mole

Jessie, a South African Border Collie trained to sniff elusive ground moles out by the Endangered Wildlife Trust, rediscovered the De Winton’s Golden Mole, which had been presumed extinct! Here’s a new year reminder for humanity to do better this new year, because Jessie and the mole still seem to be hopeful about us.

I had the pleasure of working with the Endangered Wildlife Trust earlier in 2016, when I designed a mascot ‘Mwitu’ for their Painted Dog conservation initiative. Congratulations to the team for this rediscovery!

Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine

Extinct Species 2024

Say hello, well, goodbye actually, to five among the twenty one species to be declared extinct this year. While the Little Mariana Fruit Bat, Bridled White Eye, Molokai Creeper and the Flat Pigtoe Mussel were delisted from the US Endangered Species Act because of extinction, the Java Stingaree was declared extinct after a recent IUCN survey. 

Oh, and a very happy new year to us all, from the Flat Pigtoe Mussel!

Comic for DW Environment.

Switzerland Wolf Culling

Peaceful Switzerland. Neutral Switzerland. WILD Switzerland! Cartoon from my column with The Hindu on Switzerland's controversial wolf cull, starring Environment Minister Albert Rosti. Amidst major efforts to rewild Europe, the concept of co-existence, like always, seems to be eluding the continent.

Namibia Ecuador and Australia

Quiz time! Pick the 'developed' country out of the three: Namibia, Ecuador, or Australia?

Cartoon for DW Environment. 

Mysterious Pangolin

Recent molecular analysis of confiscated pangolin scales revealed the existence of a ninth, previously unknown species of pangolin, now called the Mysterious Pangolin! The unusual discovery brings with it both hope and concern- hope that the whereabouts of this creature will eventually be found, and concern that the creature would be found alive before the trafficking of pangolins leads the sp0ecies to extinction.

Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine. 

Small Cat Poaching in North East India

A new study by Amit Kumar Bal et al. reveals that poaching of small cats is on the rise along the Indo-Myanmar border. A Marbled Cat gives you a quick summary, from in column with Roundglass Sustain. 

Read more about the study on Mongabay India here.

Hispid Hares and Forest Fires

Nepal's terai grasslands are home to the critically endangered Hispid Hare, but tiger-centric conservation measures including burning of grasses, is proving to be a survival threat for the species. A Mongabay report calls for more inclusive and diverse habitat management.

Comic for The Hindu Sunday Magazine,  published on 20th April, 2023.

Bats in Monuments

Bats in Indian monuments- a boon or bane? Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

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 European Hamster in Ukraine

The critically endangered European Hamster, along with other grassland specialists like the Steppe Marmot, the Fallow Deer and the Kulan, are now on a mission to rewild Ukraine’s steppes. The reintroduction effort, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, hopes to keep a legacy of conservation going in the country against the odds.

Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

World Pangolin Day 2023

What would it look like if the world’s most trafficked mammal had a #ValentinesDay date night?

Cartoon from my column with RoundGlass Sustain.

Happy #WorldPangolinDay to you and your valentine!
 

COP 27 and COP 15

A Moose from Canada and a Dorcas Gazelle from Egypt discuss COP Biodiversity and COP 27 on Nature TV News. Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

Here's another cartoon about why COP Biodiversity should matter to us, available royalty free on my Cartoonstock gallery. 

Greenland Shark Fishing Ban

A ban on the fishing and bycatch of Greenland Sharks by the NAFO raises hope for the slow-breeding species, the longest living vertebrate on earth! Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

Taxonomy of Indian Conservationists

Taxonomy of Indian Conservationists: a two-part comic series that appears in my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine. Any resemblance to actual people is purely coincidental.

How many of these have you met?

(Thanks to Janaki Lenin for the prompt that resulted in this comic!)

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. 

Freya the Walrus and the Norway Government

Freya the Walrus was 'put down' by the Norways fisheries department, as she apparently posed a threat to visitors who would not stop harassing her. Here's a demonstration of nature conservation from Norway, a world leader in conservation. 

Cartoon available royalty free on my Cartoonstock gallery here. 

EIA notification on borders and LOC

Happy Independence Day, India! Have you changed your profile pictures yet? Cartoon from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

Loktak Lake

The phumdis of Manipur's iconic Loktak Lake are under threat from a mega tourism project. Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.