Jujurana- Mascot for the Great Himalayan National Park

Meet Jujurana the Western Tragopan, the official mascot for the Great Himalayan National Park in Himachal Pradesh. The park is among the last places in the wild where this majestic but rare pheasant can still be seen. Threatened by hunting and habitat loss, the resplendent bird lives in high altitude temperate forests.

Watch my friend Munmun Dhalaria's brilliant documentary on the Western Tragopan, and the people who protect it, on National Geographic here.

Gangetic Dolphin Mascot and Poster

Meet Muskaan the Gangetic Dolphin, India's national aquatic animal, and Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary's official mascot! Vikramshila is the only dolphin sanctuary in India. The poster explains some of the conservation threats the species faces in and around the sanctuary, and is being used for conservation awareness locally.

Thanks to the Forest Department of Bihar for commissioning me for the assignment!

Art for the Coringa Bird Festival

Macha the Fishing Cat, Coringa's official park mascot goes fishi... I mean birding today at the Coringa Bird Festival! The festival will bring together bird experts, photographers, artists and birders from different parts of the country and will give them a chance to explore one of India's most pristine mangrove forests together. 

Here are a couple of posters I created for the event, commissioned by the dynamic DFO Mr. Anant Shankar. The Indian Skimmer, a rather rare and threatened species finds a home in Coringa, along with the Fishing Cat! 

Crested Ibis Mascot for Beidaihe Wetland Park

The Crested Ibis is an endangered member of the ibis family, found in Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan and Russia. Like all ibises, it inhabits wetlands and marshes, and is threatened by the loss of these habitats. Successful captive breeding and reintroduction efforts in China have brought some respite for the species, and Beidaihe Wetland Park  in China is one such haven for these birds.

Here's a set of illustrations that I created for a Crested Ibis conservation campaign at Beidaihe. My thanks to the park management for not just commissioning me for the project, but also giving me a chance to learn about this species!

Hong the Swan Goose- Mascot for Beidaihe Wetland Park

Meet Hong the Swan Goose, the official mascot for Beidaihe National Wetland Park in Quinhuangdo, China. The Swan Goose, threatened by hunting, habitat loss and hybridization, was chosen as the official mascot to bring attention to its 'Vulnerable' status on the IUCN red list, and to popularize the bird and the park among birders and wildlife enthusiasts in China. 

(Some preliminary character designs before we zeroed in on the one in the centre). 

Thanks to the park management at Beidaihe for commissioning me for the project, and to my friend Yuli Yang of CNN Hong Kong, for helping me come up with a name for the mascot!

Macha the Fishing Cat - Mascot for Coringa WLS

Meet Macha the Fishing Cat, the official mascot for Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh! ('Macha', Tamil,  means friend or 'bro' in colloquial parlance across Southern India). Coringa is one of India's largest contiguous stretch of mangrove forests and hosts the largest population of Fishing Cats in the country. DFO Mr. Anant Shankar commissioned a mascot design and a series of four posters in which Macha introduces his 'machas', YOU, to Coringa and mangroves. Read on- 

A big thanks to Mr. Shankar and the AP Forest Department for initiating this fun project! The posters are up at the interpretation centre in Coringa.

Macha the Fishing Cat now proudly endorses Coringa to visitors as a life-size sculpture! Thanks to the team of artists who worked on converting my character design into this magnificent sculpture.

Bhoorsingh the Barasingha Returns

In a continued series of commissions for Kanha Tiger Reserve (under Field Director Mr. Sanjay Shukla), I created a few more comics, posters and artwork with the park mascot Bhoorsingh the Barasingha-

A Day in the Life of Bhoorsingh-

A Chronology of the life of Bhoorsingh-

A poster for the Kanha-Achanakmar corridor walk, conducted by the park management and WWF India-

Artwork for a playschool run by the forest department, which is named after Bhoorsingh-

A 'selfie canvas' set to be installed at tourist stops in the national park-

(click on the image for a larger view)

Thanks once again to Mr. Sanjay Shukla for his continued association with Green Humour, and for using artwork so extensively to promote Kanha!

Nanhi the Indian Giant Squirrel- Mascot for Satpura Tiger Reserve

Meet Nanhi the Indian Giant Squirrel, the official mascot for Satpura Tiger Reserve. Nanhi here, is seen endorsing a butterfly-watching event being hosted by the park from the 8th to the 10th of September 2017. (Registrations here).

The Satpuras, a biogeographical marvel, are a connecting link between the Western Ghats and the eastern Himalayas, and host a splendid array of wildlife unique to Central India. With a stunning diversity of butterflies (and also frogs and birds), this event is sure to pack a punch!

A big thanks to Mr. Anil Nagar, Field Director of the reserve, and the forest department of Madhya Pradesh for commissioning me for the mascot.

Bhoorsingh the Barasingha

Meet Bhoorsingh the Barasingha- the official mascot for Kanha National Park (Madhya Pradesh, India)! Bhoorsingh is proud of two things- of being endemic to Kanha, and of his twelve-tined antlers!

I visited Kanha last month over another project and met the dynamic Field Director of the park, Mr. Sanjay Shukla. A real visionary that he is, Mr. Shukla was full of creative ideas about creating awareness material for Kanha, and conversations with him led us to choose the Barasingha, an endemic variety of deer, as the park's mascot. 'Bhoor' in Hindi translates to 'tawny/golden' and 'Singh', 'antlers'.

Bhoorsingh will soon be featuring in more artwork, posters and merchandise for the park management at Kanha. The Kanha Bird Survey being conducted by the forest department and Bird Count India, begins today (17th to 20th March, 2017). And of course, Bhoorsingh is the brand ambassador for the event!

More posters and artwork with our twelve-tined friend coming right up. Stay 'tined' for more!

Some more illustrations done for Bhoorsingh 'selfie stands' that will be put up at tourist halt spots in Kanha.

Mwitu the African Wild Dog

Meet Mwitu, the African Wild Dog! Mwitu is the mascot for South Africa's Endangered Wildlife Trust that works towards the conservation of the African Wild Dog among other endangered animals. 

The EWT is running a contest in which the winners could win a Mwitu t-shirt! Find more details on their Facebook Page here.

Thanks to MArion Burger of the EWT for commissioning me for the illustrations!

Mascot for the All India Forest Sports Meet

Meet Billoo the Hornbill, a mascot I designed for the All India Forest Sports Meet, 2015. The mascot also features on a series of 'My Stamp' postage stamps issued by the government, released at the meet by the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Mr. Siddaramaiah, and the Union Minister of State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Mr. Javadekar, among others. Billoo also features on a special cover of the Indian Philately Digest to commemorate the event.

The 'My Stamp' series featuring Billoo the Hornbill released at the event.

Oh, and here's 'Jumbo' Anil Kumble speaking at a podium with Billoo on it!