Cartoon Advisories for Aramness Resort

I did some fun cartoon advisories for Aramness, a luxury resort in Gir National Park (Gujarat, India), that wanted to get their visitors acquainted with biodiversity in and around their luxury kothis. Visit their website to plan your visit to Gir, the land of the Asiatic Lion.

Thanks to the management at Aramness for this fun collaboration!

Primates of India

Meet the 23 primate species of India in this new compilation! Prints and merchandise shipped worldwide on my Redbubble store here. For t-shirts and prints within India, visit my Happywagon store.

Note that the White-cheeked Macaque, added to India's checklist in 2016 after being discovered from Arunachal Pradesh does not have an IUCN status yet as it is yet to be assessed (but will turn out to be endangered in all likelihood owing to its restricted range, habitat loss and hunting). The other species that do not have an IUCN status mentioned against them are of 'Least Concern' on the Red List. 

Wildlife resorts in lockdown

Inspired by a few instances of wildlife actually using resorts in lockdown for a quick retreat! Comic from my column with The Hindu. 

No Shave November Indian Wildlife Challenge

The No Shave November Indian Wildlife challenge! Which one are you taking?

Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

We all have that Capped Langur Friend

We all have that Capped Langur friend. Cartoon from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

Alarm Calls for the Government

As protests against the ruling government heat up across the country, here's a reminder of one of the ways it has tampered with the constitution for years now. Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

Brachiating Tiger

On the lack of mitigation measures in India, from my column with Pune Mirror.

Wild Bhutan

I'm just back from my second trip to Bhutan and could not resist the temptation of drawing wildlife from this wonderland again! Here's a collage of Bhutan's wildlife- 22 of the myriad of wild fauna found in the Cloud Kingdom.

Prints of the artwork are available as a wide range of apparel and merchandise on my webstore here. 

For orders within India, please view the range of products available below-

A1 poster (594 x 841mm)- Rs. 1800 each

A2 Poster (419 x 594mm)- Rs. 1200 each

A3 Poster - Rs. 500 for the first copy and Rs. 200 for the second copy onwards 

Tshirt (S,M,L,XL)- Rs. 1300

Coffee Mug (Compilations)- Rs. 850

Personal Diary (Hard Cover, A5, 150 pages)-  Rs. 800

(email your orders to rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com, mentioning a postal address and contact number for delivery. Payments are accepted via NEFT or PayTM)

Note that this list is far from accurate or complete, but does cover some of the country's most prominent fauna, such as its national animal, the Golden Takin; its national bird, the Common Raven; the Black-necked Crane, an important bird in Bhutanese folklore, and so on. For a more comprehensive list and distribution of the wildlife of Bhutan, please go through my 2016 project with WWF Bhutan, The Wildlife Map of Bhutan.

Eco-friendly Diwali Tips from Wild Animals

Green Humour wishes readers from India and abroad a happy and eco-friendly Diwali. The comic appears in my column with Sunday Mid-day.

Prints and greetings available on my webstore here. For orders within India, write to me on rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com.

The Himalayan Black Bear and the Himalayan Langur

Recent observations by my friend and primatologist Himani Nautiyal reveal a strange friendship between a herbivore and a carnivore from the Himalayan foothills- the Asiatic Black Bear and the Himalayan Langur! Read Himani's paper on these records here- http://www.bioone.org/doi/pdf/10.3106/ms2017-0033

The comic appears in my column with Sunday Mid-day.

Neelakurinji Bloom at Munnar

Neelakurinji flowers (Strobilanthes kunthiana) bloom once in twelve years, and are blooming in Munnar, Kerala right now! Here's a comic celebrating this spectacle of nature from my column with Mid-Day today.

Some social mammals breastfeeding their young

A comic to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week. Let's use our large cerebral cortices a bit more wisely.

Primates of Vietnam

Vietnam is a land of incredible biodiversity, specially when it comes to primates. With 25 species of primates, it is among the world's foremost primate-watching hotspots. However, with the exception of the Rhesus and Long-tailed Macaques, most of Vietnam's primates are facing grave threats from poaching, hunting and pet trade, and many are on the very brink of extinction. 7 of these species are critically endangered on IUCN's Red List, and feature on the list of the world's most endangered primates. 

Ravaged by war, Vietnam has had a rough ride with wildlife conservation. American troops stationed in Vietnam's forests during the Vietnam War used these incredibly beautiful primates for 'target-practice' (other than decimating Vietnam's forests with the dreadful Agent Orange). Before Vietnam's  ecology even had a chance to recover from chemical annihilation, in came traditional Chinese medicine, sweeping populations of wild animals for their body parts, particularly the langurs and gibbons. Bushmeat, poaching and the illegal pet trade continue to take a toll, pushing many of these species closer to extinction irreversibly.

The mini-map presents each of these 25 primates and their approximate ranges within Vietnam. Prints and merchandise are available on my webstore here. 

For orders within India, you can mail me on rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com. The prices are listed below-

A0 size (841 x 1189 mm, matte)- Rs. 3500 for the first print, 3000 for the second print onwards.

A0 size (841 x 1189 mm, canvas)- Rs. 5000 for the first print, 4500 for the second print onwards.

A1 size (594 x 841 mm, matte)- Rs. 3000 for the first print, 2500 for the second print onwards.

A1 size (594 x 841 mm, canvas)- Rs. 4500 for the first print, 4000 for the second print onwards.

A3- Rs. 500 for the first print, 200 for the second print onwards.

(PS- Vietnam has a primate rehabilitation centre (EPRC) at Cuc Phuong National Park, where many of these primates rescued from poachers and traders, are being cared for. The Centre has also successfully reintroduced rescued individuals into the wild. You can help the EPRC by making a donation here-http://www.eprc.asia/support-us/donate/)

The Douc Langur

The Grey-shanked Douc, one of the world's most beautiful primates, is endemic to Vietnam and is critically endangered, owing to hunting for bushmeat and poaching for Chinese medicine. The comic appears in my column with Mid-day today. Also featuring a Vietnamese endangered endemic, the Collared Laughingthrush.

Poop Review- Delicious Droppings of Indian Mammals

Hello, critters of the forest floor! Looking for meal recommendations? Here is a critique of poop from some Indian mammals by poop connoisseur, Dung Beetle!

The series appears on Nature in Focus today. Prints available on my webstore here. (For orders within India, write to me on rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com)

Similarities between the Langur Mom and My Mother

My mother is a langur! Is your too?

A little late in posting this because I was on vacation to Indonesia, but nevertheless, a happy Mothers' Day to all moms here! The comic appears in my column with Mid-Day. Prints available on my webstore here.

Kanha Tiger Reserve- an illustrated map

(Click on the image for a larger view)

I've often referred to Kanha Tiger Reserve as the 'Mother of Indian Forests', for the simple reason that its majesty and grandeur make for a complete Indian forest experience. The true magic of the Central Indian wilderness is here in Kanha's lush meadows and evergreen Sal forests.

This February, commissioned by Mr. Sanjay Shukla (Field Director of Kanha), the Forest Department of Madhya Pradesh, and the Saving Tiger Society, I travelled to Kanha gathering references for drawing an illustrated map of the park. The map has over 50 species of fauna found in the park, along with illustrations depicting the life of the Baiga tribe, that lives around the park. Here are some snippets from the map- 

Tha Asian Paradise Flycatcher- Madhya Pradesh's state bird, perches proudly over the compass of the map.

Some of the birds found in Kanha

Some mammals found in Kanha

Some well-known trees from Kanha. The evergreen Sal is what makes Kanha unique compared to most other deciduous forests in Central India.

The Baiga people of Kanha

A mother Northern Plains Langur carries her baby on her tummy

Kanha's pride- the endemic Hardground Barasingha

A tigress with her cubs. Inspired by a family of five tigers I met in the Mukki range of Kanha TR

A Grey Hornbill feeding his family- a female who has locked herself and her chick up in a tree hollow, to escape predation while nesting!

A Sloth Bear climbs a Crocodile Bark tree for raiding a beehive.

Three wise vultures- (from left) the Long-billed, the Red-headed and the White-backed Vulture. Kanha is home to four more species- the Eurasian Griffon, the Himalayan Griffon and the Cinereous and the Egyptian Vultures.

A pack of Dholes chasing a Chital through the meadows

Baiga dancers and musicians

Baiga women are known for their tattoos, that cover nearly the entire body! One of the illustrations briefly demonstrates the process.

The map will soon be a part of the interpretation centre at Kanha, as well as a coffee table book that is being produced by the forest department. A huge thanks to Mr. Shukla, firstly for having the vision to use artwork so extensively for promoting the park, and secondly for hosting me and helping me with constant inputs throughout the project. Thanks also to Mr. Indrajit Sengupta of the Saving Tiger Society for funding the project.