Project Tiger and Project Elephant

Conservation news that doesn't make headlines: Project Tiger and Project Elephant have recently been merged. Cartoon for my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine. 

Elephant Trunk Muscles

150000 muscles in their trunks, and yet one muscle short! Happy World Elephant Day!

Cartoon from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

Elephant Gestures and What They Mean

Ever wondered how elephants say so much without really saying so much? Here are just a few of the communication tricks in this marvelous animal's kitty, or should I say, trunk?

Happy World Elephant Day, elephant lovers! Comic from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

To get prints of the comic within India, visit my Happywagon webstore. For prints abroad, visit my Redbubble webstore. 

Plastics in Elephant Dung

New research (Gitanjali Katlam et al)) confirms the presence of plastics in elephant dung. Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

Beehive Fences and Elephants

On beehive fences and their role in minimizing human-elephant conflict in African nations, from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine. 

The Wildlife Map of South Africa

Diamond and gold may well be South Africa's most valued reserves, but this beautiful country's most invaluable treasure is its wildlife! True to its title of 'Rainbow Nation', South Africa boasts of a biogeography as diverse and complex as its multicultural ethnicity: from the savanna forests of Kruger National Park at one end, home to the Big Five; to the unique Cape Floral Kingdom at the other extreme, home to some of the country's rarest endemics. The topographically diverse nation has been designed to harbour a staggering amount of biodiversity by a few crucial factors: oceanic currents from two oceans that meet at its southern tip, and the Great Escarpment that divides the country into the various biomes that we see on the map: the Karoo scrubs of the northwest, the Kalahari desert in the north, the fynbos coastal ecosystem of the southwest, mountain forests of the south, the Drakensberg highlands shared by SA and Lesotho in the east, and the bushveld and savanna forests of the northeast. 

The map brings together more than a hundred of the country's wild animals in one massive illustration, with a special focus on endemic species. Prints are available on my webstore here, shipped worldwide. For orders within India visit my Indian webstore.

(A big thanks to friends and mentors who have hosted me in South Africa: Swati Thiyagarajan and Craig Foster of Seachange with whom I am working on a very exciting illustrated compilation; and Karishma Pais and Brajesh Bajpai!)

Click on the images below for some close-up snippets:

Spot the Environmentalist

On today's episode of the game show 'Spot the Real Environmentalist', Indians show an elephant who they think a real environmentalist is! Comic from my column with The Hindu Weekend.

ISFR Report 2021

On the India State of Forests Report and India's 'impressiv' increase in forest cover, from my column with The Hindu Weekend. A huge thanks to MD Madhusudhan for his analysis and breakdown of this report, which you can read on his Twitter profile. 

Nature Book Reviews by Wild Animals

Some wild bibliophiles review nature books in my column with Sunday Mid-Day. 

Elephant Conservation the First World Way

On UK's Aspinall Foundation's plans of sending captive elephants back to Africa, from my column with The Hindu Weekend. Listen to Kenyan conservationist and author of 'The Big Conservation Lie', Mordecai Ogada's criticism of this move on this Live Berlin video.

Biodiversity Map of Assam

(Click on the images for a larger view)

Easily among the states with the richest biodiversity in India, Assam is a true jewel in the North-eastern crown. Its floodplains, both ravaged and replenished by the mighty Brahmaputra, are home to Indian giants like the Asian Elephant and the One-horned Rhinoceros (the state animal), the world's smallest pig- the Pygmy Hog, as well as endangered birds like the Black-breasted Parrotbill. Its forest streams and marshes offer refuge to its state bird, the rare White-winged Wood Duck, and its hills house endemic species like the Cachar Bulbul and the Assam Laughingthrush. Assam's birdlife is much sought after and celebrated by birdwatchers from India and abroad, boasting of nearly 700 bird species, made possible by the merger of the dense Himalayan foothills and the fertile Brahmaputra floodplains in the state. Assam's cities and towns protect rare inhabitants like the Greater Adjutant Stork, and lakes like Maguri Bheel (unfortunately ravaged by an oil fire last year) are home to large numbers of migratory waterfowl, including the critically endangered Baer's Pochard. And its hill forests are home to some of the rarest Indian primates: the Golden Langur, the Hoolock Gibbon, and the Pig-tailed and Stump-tailed Macaques. Assam also has the highest number of freshwater turtle and tortoise species for any state in India!

The compass of the map pays tribute to Hargilla Army, an all-women team dedicated to conserving the Greater Adjutant, led by Ms. Purnima Barman. Thanks to Ms. Archita Baruah Bhattacharya and WWF India for commissioning the illustration! (Copyrights belong to WWF India)

Save Thano

As Thano forest, an elephant corridor in Uttarakhand comes under threat from the state government for the expansion of Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun, hundreds of citizens have staged protests. Thano acts as a carbon sink for the state's capital, which is already facing a spike in air pollution, 

World Elephant Day and the Draft EIA

Dear MoEFCC, launching greenwashing publications on elephant conflict management on World Elephant Day makes no sense when you're all set to auction elephant habitat off to mines and development projects with the Draft EIA 2020.

Elephant Death in Kerala

Cartoons on the recent death of an elephant in Kerala by ingesting a fruit stuffed with a cracker caused massive outrage across India.

Dehing Patkai Mine

In support of the student protests against coal mining in Assam's Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve. Why are we not demanding the sacking of India's worst environment minister (who by the way also heads the National Board for Wildlife AND the ministry of heavy industries)?

Tips to Beat Covid 19 from Wild Animals

Some tips to beat Covid 19 from wild animals. From my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

Western Conservation Organizations on Bushmeat and Trophy Hunting

You know who you are, organization. From my column with The Hindu.

Jharkhand Elephant Rescue

A quick one to celebrate the efforts of Jharkhand's forest department to rescue an elephant stuck in a well, by using the Archimedes' principle of buoyancy. The well was filled with water using motor pumps and a ramp was dug for the elephant to push itself out. While this elephant survived, many wild animals lose their lives drowning in uncovered wells in the night, specially in areas where habitat encroachment is pushing wildlife to the edges of human settlements, and the covering of open wells is an urgent step that needs implementation. 

Congratulations to the Jharkhand Forest Department and the DFO of Gumla, under whose supervision the operation was carried out.

Media Portrayals of Wildlife vs Reality

Wildlife in the media versus wildlife in real life. Comic from my column with Pune Mirror.

Online Wildlife Trade

Welcome to the internet, the world's one stop shop for illegal wildlife trade. Comic from my column with The Hindu.