Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve

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In my first project for the forest department of my home state, Maharashtra, I travelled to Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve last year to create this illustrated biodiversity map of the park, where Gond culture and heritage meet some of the most iconic wildlife of Central India, making it a jewel of the heartland. The richness of Madia Gond heritage reflects in the unique stone pillars used for relaying announcements during royal processions, still preserved within the tiger reserve. Nowhere else has the intertwining of nature and humankind been iconified as distinctively as in Tadoba, where sculptures of tigers chained with the victims of human animal conflict are placed commonly in the peripheries of villages surrounding the park.

While Tadoba's teak, ain and baheda forests offer refuge to tigers, leopards, sloth bears, dholes, honey badgers, small cats and a variety of herbivores like the Gaur and Sambar, its lakes are home to mugger crocodiles and a healthy population of the near-threatened Grey-headed Fish Eagle, making the reserve an eco-tourism hotspot. I hope that the map illustration succeeds in sensitizing state authorities about the biodiversity that the park abounds with, and in serving as a reminder of all that is threatened by the expansion of mining operations and roadways in the region. The map will be on display and available as souvenirs at the park's museums and interpretation centres.

A huge thanks to Deputy Director (Core) Mr. Nandkishore Kale for giving me this opportunity, and to my Prajakta Hushangabadkar, a field biologist working in Tadoba, for guiding me through the project.

Here are some snippets from the map:

Aravalli Safari Park

Already a biodiversity hotspot, the Aravallis will soon lose 10000 acres to a safari park. Cartoon from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

Leopard Mom

The Leopard mom: a Mothers' Day special comic from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

Caste and Mainstream Environmentalism in India

Scratch the surface of most sustainability campaigns in India and you will find one major defect: the complete absence of the acknowledgement of caste based environmental conflicts. Riyosha Sharma writes in her essay 'How Indian Environmentalism Shelters Eco-Casteism' that even the UN's SDG 10 which aims to ‘empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status’, it does not specifically include caste as a category, and activists from the Dalit Rights Forum view this lack of acknowledgement as a critical lapse, owing to the deep links of the caste system with poverty and environmental injustice. 

Cartoon from my column with The Hindu. 

Threats to the Aravalli Range

As the plunder of the Aravallis continues unabated, particularly in Haryana and Delhi, here's a reminder that it is the world's oldest fold mountain range, and a treasure trove of biodiversity. Cartoon from my column with Sunday Mid-Day. Recommended reading: Newslaundry's thoroughly investigated series on encroachment in the Aravallis.

Cheetah Introduction and the Asiatic Lion

As India prepares to introduce African Cheetahs to Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary, Nature TV News speaks to the dumped ex, the Asiatic Lion. Comic from my column with The Hindu Weekend.

Diamond Mining and the Environment

The forests of Buxwaha in Madhya Pradesh, an important wildlife corridor could be lost to a diamond mine being planned by the Aditya Birla group in the region, threatening not just endangered wildlife but also tribal livelihoods. A petition in support of the forest is on Change.org here. If you wish to use the Hindi version of the cartoon, please write to me on rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com . 

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. 

Urban Biodiversity Map of Nagpur - The Tiger Capital of the World

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Being surrounded by tiger reserves, Nagpur has been popularly tagged the Tiger Capital of the World, owing to its record of having the most number of tigers within a 100 km radius for any city. But biodiversity within the city itself is exceptionally rich, and often neglected. Being the geographic centre of India, the city's lakes serve as spots for wintering, refueling and passage for several species of migratory waterfowl. Nagpur's scrub forests and dry deciduous landscape, which have been relatively undisturbed until recently, have ensured that the city peacefully coexists with mammals like leopards, pangolins, civets, wolves and even the rare Rusty Spotted Cat, existing well within its boundaries! Green pockets within the city offer refuge to a myriad insects, spiders and birds, hosting migrants all the way from Europe and Northern Asia, such as the Syke's Warbler and Rosy Starlings!

The map was commissioned by ICLEI South Asia and has just been released at the Nagpur Municipal Corporation office. Thanks to ICLEI for giving me the opportunity to draw my hometown. A special thanks to Tarique and Swati Sani, who have for years taken up the daunting task of documenting and curating the city's birdlife on their website Nagpurbirds.org, which is now merged with Bird Count India. A high resolution preview of the map is here, which will soon be up at some important public places in the city.

Caste and Conservation

Are the caste system and conservation related? In more ways than we think. Comic from my column with The Hindu.

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:

 

Mammals of Sikkim

Some mammals of Sikkim and their tracks. Illustration for the Sikkim Forest Department, paying tributet o Himalayan Thangka art. Click on the image for an enlarged view.

Wire Snares

Illegal wire snares laid for bushmeat are killing a lot more they're intended for: tigers, leopards and bears. Comic from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

Gangtok Urban Biodiversity Map

Presenting my third project with ICLEI: an illustrated urban biodiversity map of Gangtok, the capital of the Himalayan state of Sikkim. Situated in a once pristine landscape that is now subject to rapid change and degradation, Gangtok still boasts of an incredible range of fauna and flora, specially in its greenest pockets (such as forests around the Himalayan Zoological Park, the Governor's Bungalow, and Hanuman Tok to name a few). Its orchid diversity makes it next to none among Indian capital cities. But although it is surrounded by protected areas and sanctuaries like Fambonglho, Kyongnodsla and the Kanchenjunga National park, Gangtok today struggles to strike an equilibrium between rapid urbanization and nature conservation. 

The map pays tribute to Thangka art, an art style that has fascinated me for years, and is almost synonymous with art itself in Sikkim. The Directorate of Handloom and Handicraft at Gangtok has a Thangka art school, where I spent some time learning a few tips and tricks from both art teachers and students before working on this map.

Thanks once again to ICLEI for commissioning me for the project. I also extend my gratitude to the prolific Sikkim forester and my mentor Mrs. Usha Lachungpa (who features in the map!), and my friends Minla and Karmachoden for all their help with my orientation of Sikkim and Gangtok, and without whom this illustration would be impossible to execute.  

The illustration can be downloaded in high resolution on the Interactbio ICLEI website here.

Some snippets from the map are below (click on the images for a larger view):

Women led Conservation Initiatives in India

Happy International Women's Day! Here are just some of the many women-led conservation initiatives in India. Read more about these panthresses and their packs on on https://www.inseasonfish.com/, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/08/storks-science-india-animals-rare/, https://www.terraconscious.com/, http://nagalandconservation.in/amur-falcon-conservation/, http://thelastwilderness.org/, https://www.greenhubindia.net/, https://www.sanctuaryasia.com/magazines/conservation/10656-mud-on-boots-project-meet-the-project-leaders.html and https://www.blackbazacoffee.com/. Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

Cheetah Reintroduction in India

 Envisioned as early as 2011 by the then Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, the proposal to introduce cheetahs to India had been rejected considering the lack of habitat and prey for the savanna cats, which have been extinct in India for 70 years now. But now the Supreme Court of India has cleared the plan to reintroduce Cheetahs from Namibia to India. While most conservationists feel that this is a case of misplaced priorities and that India should instead be focusing on preserving the already existing cat species and their habitat, some argue that cheetah reintroduction could save grasslands, otherwise largely ignored by conservation policies. Another point to note is that Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary which has been prepared and assessed for the establishment of a second population of Gujarat's Asiatic Lions imperiled by inbreeding and disease, could be a site for the reintroduction of the cheetah, which would leave the fate of our Asiatic Lions suspended in uncertainty.

Cartoon from my column with RoundGlass Sustain.

Things people don't like to hear

'Let's act like our house in on fire'- says the Global Climate Strike's byline, scheduled for the 20th of September 2019. While governments and industries are to be blamed for 'our house being on fire', I hope that overpopulation, a major contributing factor to the fire that people do not like to talk about, and that cannot be overlooked anymore, will also be protested against.

Comic from my column with The Hindu's Sunday Magazine.

The Wildlife Map of Maharashtra

Maharashtra's geography is as complex and intriguing as its animals. From the Western Ghats in the west home to a myriad endemic frogs, geckoes and birds, to the dry deciduous forests of the east home to a majority of India's tigers and the critically endangered Forest Olwet, Maharashtra has a staggering biodiversity. The state finds its state symbols in the Indian Giant Squirrel or Shekru (in Marathi), the Yellow-footed Green Pigeon (Hariyal in Marathi), the Blue Mormon butterfly, the Jarul flower and the Mango tree. Some of its true wonders are species that are found only in the Sahyadris such as the Amboli Bush Frog, the Koyna Toad, the Vigors' Sunbird and numerous varieties of hill flowers such as Karvi and the Satara Aponogeton. But possibly the biggest surprise of all is a mammal that's only found here and nowhere else in the world- the Kondana Rat, endemic to Pune's Sinhagadh!

A big thanks to WWF Maharashtra (Ms. Vaibhavi Shitut Amle, Ms. Caroline Pais, Ms. Farmeen Mistry) for commissioning the project and for giving me a chance to draw my home state! Thanks also to Dr. Parvish Pandya for reviewing the project and to marine biologist Abhishek Jamalabad for his valuable inputs. The map will soon be used in campaigns at schools associated with WWF India.

(click on the images for a larger view)