Rhinos of the World

Rhinoceroses, despite being among the world's most loved large herbivores, are also among the world's most endangered. While brutal and indiscriminate poaching for their horns has been the single biggest threat to their existence, habitat loss too has played its part. 5 extant species; two in Africa and 3 in Asia survive today on the very brink of extinction. Africa's White or Square-lipped Rhino is the world's largest rhinoceros, while the Sumatran Rhino the smallest (and hairiest!). Three species, the Black, Javan and Sumatran Rhinos are critically endangered, while several subspecies are either critically endangered or already functionally or regionally extinct (e.g. Bornean Rhinoceros, Northern White Rhinoceros, Chittagong Rhinoceros).

Prints of the poster are available on my webstore here. 

For orders within India, email me on rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com. The products available for orders within India are listed below:

A2 Posters (Matte surface, loose)- Rs. 1200 for the first print, 1000 for the second print onwards

Loose Posters (A3- Individual species and compilation)- Rs. 500 for the first copy and Rs. 200 for the second copy onwards

Coffee Mug (Compilation)- Rs. 850

Tshirts (individual species/compilation)- Rs. 1300 (White, Cotton, roundneck, sizes- S,M,L,XL)

Rhino and Elephant Poaching

Sudan, reportedly the last male Northern White Rhino, died at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya yesterday. Sudan may have died of old age, but it is poaching and the demand for rhino horns and ivory that took his sub-species out. 

From my column with RoundGlass Samsara.

Kaziranga Floods

On the floods in Kaziranga from my column with Mid-Day today. A big thanks to all the heroes from the Forest Department and the various NGOs in Assam, working to ease the conflict between people and stranded animals.

Shoot on sight for poachers versus human rights

BBC's recent documentary 'Killing for Conservation', based on the shoot-on-sight policy followed by Kaziranga National Park's forest staff for poachers, raised a huge row about its ethics and human rights. Here's my take, that appears in my column with Mid-Day today.

Poaching of the One-horned Rhino

A comic about the poaching of rhinos that only seems to escalate, both in the case of the Indian one-horned, and its African two-horned cousins. The comic appears in my Sunday column with Mid-Day.

Large Herbivores of India- Caricatures

About time we had something mega, something massive, something magnanimous here- meet India's large herbivores!

The Asian/ Indian Elephant

Worshiped and revered in Indian mythology, the Indian Elephant is the country's favourite and the most iconic animal next to the tiger. The elephant is also India's National Heritage Animal. The elephant is listed as Endangered today owing to poaching, habitat loss and conflicts with humans. 

The Indian One-horned Rhinoceros

The Indian Rhinoceros is the pride of North-eastern India and defines the terai and the marshes along the foothills of the Himalayas that it inhabits. It differs from its African counterparts in having a single horn, and is second in size after the Asian Elephant, in all of our continent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN, and poaching continues to be the greatest threat to the survival of the rhino.

Gaur

The Gaur or the Indian Bison is the largest ox in the world. The massive animal is easily identified by the convex ridge between the horns on the forehead, and the neat, white socks on the legs. The Gaur is listed as Vulnerable owing to threats from hunting in countries such as Laos and Vietnam, and habitat loss.

Water Buffalo

One of the largest bovids in the world, a majority of the population of Asian Water Buffalo is found in the marshes of Assam. The animal is defined by its large, nearly semicircular horns. The Water Buffalo is endangered because of interbreeding with cattle, loss of its floodplain habitat, and hunting in countries such as Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia.

Nilgai

The Nilgai (Hindi for Blue Bull) is the largest antelope in Asia and one of the most common ones as well. It inhabits dry deciduous and scrub forests. Sexual dimorphism is pronounced in this species; the males sporting bluish grey coats and a long, coarse hair shaped like a pennant on the throats, while the females are light brown.

Sambar

The Sambar is India's largest deer. Characterized by a uniformly dark brown coloured coat and large antlers on the male, the deer often emits a bark when threatened. Although the sambar is usually solitary, they may be seen in herds, and congregate at salt licks. The Sambar is listed as vulnerable because of poaching and habitat loss.

The posters (individual animals and the compilation) is available as prints in an A3 size, along with the regular range of goodies (fridge magnets, coffee mugs, diaries and coasters)-

Prices for the prints and merchandise are listed below-

A2 Posters (loose)- Rs. 1200 each
Mounted Posters (A3- Individual species and compilation)- Rs. 2000

Loose Posters (A3- Individual species and compilation)- Rs. 500 for the first copy and Rs. 200 for the second copy onwards

Fridge Magnets (65 x 65 mm, Printed in sets of 4)- Any 4 animal caricatures for Rs. 1200

Coasters (3.5" x 3.5", Printed in sets of 6)- All 6 animal caricatures for Rs. 800

Coffee Mug (Compilations)- Rs. 850

Personal Diary (Hard Cover, A5, 150 pages)- Any animal caricature in a vertical orientation on the cover- Rs. 800

The orders can be placed by e-mailing me on rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com. Payments are accepted by NEFT and cheque. (Please note that I am shipping only within India at the moment)

Oh, and two points to you if you name the birds perched on the backs of the herbivores correctly!

Some Victims of Global Terrorism

Not only is poaching the 5th largest criminal operation in the world, it also fuels the ugliest international plague- terrorism, and is also a result of it. In African countries particularly, where poaching is an international organized crime, poaching of elephants for their tusks and rhinos for their horns has been turning increasingly vicious over the years. The enormous backing from Chinese markets and the funds obtained for these products form a major part of the economic structure of terrorist organizations like the Boko Haram. 

Kathryn Bigelow's short film 'Last Days' is excellent commentary on this crisis. Diogo Verrisimo, a reader on my Facebook page, has penned an interesting contradictory opinion on the issue that can be read on 'The Conversation' here.

The cartoon appeared in my fortnightly column in The Hindu's BLink last weekend- http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/features/blink/explore/article6793700.ece

Black Rhinoceros

Black Rhinos differ from their African cousins, the White Rhinos in having hooked lips, as opposed to the wide lips of the White Rhino. Excessive poaching for the Black Rhinoceros' horn have decimated its numbers, with several sub-species already extinct. The Western Black Rhinoceros was recently pronounced extinct by the IUCN following a 2011 survey. The political crises in several African countries that fall in the range of the Black Rhino have only made the situation worse.

Here's this year's World Rhino Day post!

Trophy Hunting Explained in One Simple Cartoon

In an age when every wild animal needs some sort of conservation aid or the other, every once in a while a trophy hunter makes waves on the internet, claiming to 'support conservation'. Recently, a 'blond' Texan cheerleader has been 'doing her part' by killing lions and leopards and advertising on her social media profiles. Not surprisingly, hunting groups are playing cheerleader to her 'efforts'. Her hunting pictures have sparked a row, making her a subject of two online petitions.

Here's a cartoon that explains what trophy hunting actually is in my view. While there is a growing awareness about poaching among the masses, trophy hunting still goes on unabated. All rhino species are battling it out every day in the wild today, and every single individual counts. It is beyond my comprehension how the authorities can afford to 'sacrifice' a rhino 'for the sake of conservation'.

Recently published illustrations

 Apart from cartoons, I've been doing some exciting illustration projects on wildlife stories and articles. Some of these that I've done for Saevus are right here-

A double spread for an article by Dr. Dipankar Ghose of WWF India on wildlife corridors-

Another double spread for an article by AJT Johnsingh on the impact of feral dogs around reserve forests

A children's story on snow leopards-

And the cover for a handbook on butterflies-

Some more coming up shortly!

De-horning Rhinos

The Assam government has proposed de-horning of the Indian One-horned Rhino in a bid to save its state animal from poaching. The proposal has met with a lot of flak from conservationists as there is no logical evidence to suggest that this will actually stop poachers from killing rhinos. It would be a pity if a beast as majestic and mighty as the rhino has to part with its characteristic asset because of attribution of false properties to it, stemming from the utter lack of human common sense.

IUCN 'Status Updates'

Africa is facing an acute conservation crisis. Poaching of elephants for ivory backed shamelessly by China, has decimated the populations of the Forest Elephant. Poachers continue to gun down herds of elephants together, not sparing even the calves. Political instability in the range of these elephants only makes the situation a lot more grim.

This work by Rohan Chakravarty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

World Pangolin Day 2013

The third Saturday of February is celebrated as World Pangolin Day. The name comes from the Malay word    'pengguling', meaning something that rolls up, referring to the pangolin's defense. Its upper body is covered with keratinous scales while the belly is bare and soft, so when the animal sense danger, it rolls itself into a ball, rendering itself impenetrable to its predator's attacks. Unfortunately this harmless creature faces numerous conservation threats in hunting for bush meat, use in Chinese Medicine and cuisine, and the trade in its body parts. Reports of seizures of illegally trafficked pangolins are not uncommon. Read more about the conservation of pangolins on http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0211-hance-pity-pangolin.html

This work by Rohan Chakravarty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Halloween in the Wild

Jaw traps for tigers, Traditional Chinese Medicine for rhinos, fur pelts for leopards, ivory products and AK-47s for African Elephants, snares for bears, deer, and various small mammals, gillnets for turtles and crocodiles, nets for birds and the list goes on. Poaching ranks aming the top international crimes today.

This work by Rohan Chakravarty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

It's World Rhino Day!

Rhino horns find felonious uses in a variety of objectionable commodities- as aphrodisiacs and ingreditens of Traditional Chinese Medicine used to treat fever, rheumatism, gout and other disorders.  In the Middle East, it is carved into ornamental dagger handles known as 'jambiya', considered a sign of manhood that is presented to adolescent boys. These have led to indiscriminate killings and populations have plummeted to shocking numbers over the years.

Here's one for the rhinos on World Rhino Day!

This work by Rohan Chakravarty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

'Rhinibitions'

Rhino horns are used indiscriminately in a variety of objectionable commodities- as aphrodisiacs and ingreditens of Traditional Chinese Medicine used to treat fever, rheumatism, gout and other disorders.  In the Middle East, it is carved into ornamental dagger handles known as 'jambiya', considered a sign of manhood that is presented to adolescent boys. These have led to indiscriminate killings and populations have plummeted to shocking numbers over the years.

This work by Rohan Chakravarty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.