World Mangrove Day

The roots of mangroves permeate far deeper than we think! A World Mangrove Day special for my column with Roundglass Sustain.

Spot the Masquerade on Mumbai's Shores

Masquerade on Mumbai's shores, featuring the marine life of Mumbai, and the death of the marine life of Mumbai: the Coastal Road! Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

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.

Galathea Bay Shipment Project

On the National Wildlife Board's plan to denotify Galathea Bay National Park in the Great Nicobar Island for a shipment project, from my column with Sunday Mid-Day, featuring a Giant Robber Crab.

If Decorator Crabs did Bridal Makeup

Meet the Decorator Crab, that uses other organisms for concealing itself from its predators! Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day. 

I learned about this fascinating organism in this amazing article by Chetana Purushottam on RoundGlass Sustain.

Sea Shells and Ecology

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

Earth Day with Underground Weirdos

Happy Earth Day from some underground weirdos from my column with RoundGlass Sustain.

How the Fiddler crab got its claw

The fiddler crab's characteristically asymmetric and much larger 'major claw' has many functions. Males use it for a waving display to win female attention, in combat with other males, and also to dig burrows for their mates to lay eggs in. Naturally, size matters in the crab world!

All my publishers refused to run this one, for understandable reasons, so I thought I'd give it a home on the web. I hope you too have been working on your fiddler claw staying at home in quarantine!

Ocean Acidification and the Dungeness Crab

Ocean acidification is having unprecedented impacts on crabs, dissolving their shells and exposing their sensory organs to damage. The phenomenon has recently been reported in Dungeness Crabs of North America. Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

Adani Port and Pulicat Fisherwomen

Pulicat's fisherfolk are fighting Adani's expansion of the Kuttapally Port with a seafood festival at the Chennai Kalai Theru Vizha over the weekend, in collaboration with InSeason Fish. To learn how seafood can be consumed in a way that supports sustainable fisheries, follow InSeason Fish for more informtion.

Panjim- an Urban Biodiversity map

A biodiversity and heritage map of the Goan capital Panjim, commissioned by ICLEI South Asia. Situated on the banks on the Mandovi River, Panjim is dotted with a rich network of estuaries and mangroves, which are home to diverse coastal flora and fauna. Migratory waders throng Panjim's beaches and mudflats along the Ribandar causeway and the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, which is also home to estuarine reptiles like the Glossy Marsh Snake. The mangrove ecosystem along the coast host many commercially important fish, crustaceans and the elusive Smooth-coated Otter.  Goa's proximity to the Western Ghats ensures that a variety of endemic insects and herpetofauna make Goa their home, including the Goan Shadow Dancer perched on the title of the map. The star of the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin dwells where the estuaries of Panjim meet the sea. Innovative but endangered traditional livelihoods which Goan communities have evolved such as the Goan salt-pans and sluice-gate fishing, are depicted on the map.

Some of Panjim's most important heritage buildings also feature on the map. The illustration style itself pays tribute to Goa's iconic Azulejos tile art, which came with the Portuguese and became Panjim's visual identity. A Goan rooster perches on the map's compass. As Panjim grapples with rapid expansion as Goa's capital city, the illustration is meant to serve as a reminder of what the city must preserve and coexist with.

A huge thanks to my dear friend and Goan conservation biologist Nandini Velho, my partner and ICLEI's Assistant Manager Rithika Fernandes, Sayeesh Pirankar and Hycintha Aguiar (ICLEI) and Goan tree expert Dr. Usha Desai for their generous help and inputs for the map (and for some lip-smacking food recommendations!).  Thanks to ICLEI for commissioning a series of delightful, exploratory and experimental map projects. The illustration is available in a high resolution here. 

Here are a few close-ups from the map:

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.

Second Hand Fashion with the Hermit Crab

Meet the original second-hand model- the Hermit Crab, endorsing sustainable fashion since the Late Cretaceous! Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-day.

Wildlife of Seychelles

In an exciting assignment commissioned by the Save our Seas Foundation working in The Seychelles, I created a habitat illustration of St. Joseph Atoll and D'Arros Island. I got to draw and learn about many creatures I had never heard of before, and the illustration was among my work detailed work on marine fauna. Click on the illustrations for a larger view.

Copyrights to all images here belong to the Save our Seas Foundation. While the habitat illustration is to be published in the Save our Seas Magazine and posters, each of the illustrated elements will be used in merchandise.

12 Green Resolution Suggestions from Wild Animals

If they can do it, so can we, right? Which ones are you taking up this year?

The series appears in my space with Nature in Focus today.

In case you forget your green resolutions down the year, you can purchase a poster on my webstore here, to keep reminding you of the list! (Also try to indulge less in consumerism this year, please, other than purchasing Green Humour prints and merchandise!)