Theri Sand Dunes and the Madras Hedgehog

Tamil Nadu has its own dune, and the dune has its own Timothy Chalamet- the endemic Madras Hedgehog! Last year, I had the pleasure of venturing twice into the Theri dunes of Tirunelveli, with researcher Maria Antony and hedgehog biologist Brawin Kumar, but was never lucky enough to spot the animal. Hunted for various superstitious rituals and losing wild scrub habitat to development and urbanization, the Madras Hedgehog is now becoming increasingly rare.

To readers from Tamil Nadu who may take offence at the ‘Dune’ comparison when there is already a Tamil film called ‘Theri’ starring superstar Vijay, my due apologies! While I am indeed aware of the popularity of the film, I am not sure if it has anything to do with the red sand dunes, not having watched it yet (and if it makes up for anything, I have not watched Dune yet either!)

Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

Rann Sarovar and the Asiatic Wild Ass

Gujarat's proposed Rann Sarovar project is an impending death knell to several entities: the threatened Asiatic Wild Ass, an endemic species of prawn, the Agariya salt harvesting community, and the Little Rann of Kutchh itself. Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine. 

Pakistan's MacQueen's Bustards in Trouble

Like every winter, Pakistan's Macqueen's Bustards (also called the Asian Houbara) are in trouble this year. While Pakistan's conservationists and ornithologists are hard at work trying to revive bustard populations, their government chooses to use these birds as political pawns to appease their sugar-daddies in Saudi Arabia. Cartoon from my column with The Hindu.

Drinking with the Sandgrouse Dad

This Fathers' Day, meet daddy extraordinaire: the Sandgrouse! Cartoon from my column with The Hindu. Happy Fathers' Day to dads and sandgrouses around the world. 

Fennec Fox cartoons for Arastirmaci Cocuk

Some cartoons on the world's cutest canid, the Fennec Fox, created for the Turkish kids' magazine Arastirmaci Cocuk. The cartoons appear in Turkish in the latest issue of the magazine.

Freakotourism in Ladakh

On unsustainable tourism in Ladakh from my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

Threats to the Great Indian Bustard

The Great Indian Bustard is known in India by vernacular names like 'Godawan' in Rajasthan, and 'Hoom' in Maharashtra, after its booming breeding call. Here's a comic about the conservation threats that this critically endangered bird faces, from my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

Deserts and Arid Ecosystems

Deserts and arid landscapes are fully functional ecosystems in themselves, not needing any kind of artificial reforestation. This is a fact, among many others that the National Forest Policy draft of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change overlooks. Other than proposing to turn 'degraded' land into commercial plantations, the draft inclines towards the privatization of government-owned forest land and shows a preference for commercial monoculture over natural forests, while sidelining the participation of  communities in conservation.

The draft is open for public review on the MoeF website here. I request you all to send in your comments on the draft to digfpolicy-mef@nic.in, jitesh.kumar@nic.in and toforestpolicy@gmail.com  before the 14th of April.