Brittle Star

Brittle Stars of the world, unite! Cartoon from my Roundglass Sustain column. 

Similarities between the Sand Bubbler Crab and Bill Watterson

Some similarities between the Sand Bubbler Crab and Bill Watterson. A tribute to one of my favourite cartoonists on World Cartoonists' Day

From my Roundglass Sustain column.

Biodiversity Map of Mumbai

The first images that one's mind conjures upon hearing the name Mumbai, are either a city full of skyscrapers and slums, or the promenades along Marine Lines and Bandra. But Mumbai is also replete with a unique blend of biodiversity. From a forest ruled by leopards in the heart of the city to beaches full of bizarre shore wildlife, from wetlands dotted pink with flamingos to mangroves splashing red with fiddler crabs, Mumbai has them all! Here is an illustration done for Purpose's campaign 'Mumbai's Ministry of Magic', with the motive to empower Mumbai's youth with a visual resource of the city's biodiversity, and a reminder to the government of the natural heritage we must conserve and coexist with. The map also pays tribute to the Warli and Koli communities, and the very spirit of Mumbai.

My thanks to Ms. Suma Balaram, Ms. Arpita Bhagat and their team for commissioning this once-in-a-lifetime project! My gratitude to friends at Marine Life of Mumbai, Ms. Madhushri Mudke and my brother Rohit Chakravarty for their inputs. A hat tip to the maverick herpetologists Zeeshan Mirza and Rajesh Sanap for discovering the invertebrates and reptiles from Aarey Colony that feature in the map. Click on the images to view details from the map:

 

Tips to save the Tuturuatu

Any conservationists / ornithologists / birders from New Zeaand here? I recently learned that the Tuturuatu or the Shore Plover is not just among the world's most endangered waders, but it also a very difficult bird to conserve, because it refuses to cooperate with conservationists! To save this species threatened from introduced predators and habitat loss, scientists have been trying to establish Tuturuatu populations on predator-free islands like Waikawa, Chatham, Mana. But in a recent conservation setback, an entire colony of Tuturuatus (not known to be long-distance flyers) disappeared from Mana, presumably flying off to a different island! Meanwhile, populations in Waikawa have been on the path to recovery, with the island now boasting of 24 breeding pairs.

Here are some tips to make Tuturuatus potentially cooperate with conservation measures better! Comic from my Gocomics page.

Sea Shells and Ecology

Why you must not collect sea shells. Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day

Some pleasures of tidepooling

I've never been a beach-person, until tide-pooling happened! And despite a few nasty falls on slippery rocks, I'm still loving it. Many thanks to my friends Sejal Mehta, Shaunak Modi and Abhishek Jamalabad for introducing me to shore wildlife. Follow Marine Life of Mumbai for the best database on shore life in India.

Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

Prints available on my webstore here. For orders within India, mail me on rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com.