River Beautification in India

River beautification is not river conservation. The same goes for lakes and other water bodies. Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

Nagpur and Nag River

A Nag (Spectacled Cobra), the municipal symbol of my hometown Nagpur, tells you the story of the river this city was named after, in my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

Recommended reading: this article in Down To Earth on the Nag River by Aparna Pallavi.

Yankee Doodle Feat the Yangtze Paddlefish

A jingle to remember to Yangtze Paddlefish that was declared extinct last week. China has imposed a 10 year ban on fishing since the declaration, but dams and pollution continue to threaten the Yangtze and its denizens. Recent casualties to extinction prior to the paddlefish have been the Reeves Shad and the Baiji Dolphin, while the Chinese Sturgeonfish and the Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle, both on the brink of extinction, are expected to perish next.

Bird Deaths in Sambhar Lake

Rajasthan's Sambhar Lake that hosts thousands of migratory waterfowl every year, witnessed mass deaths from botulism and elevated concentrations of salt from illegal salt mining in the lake. Applause for all veterinarians and conservation organizations who teamed up to save the remaining birds from the crisis.

Cartoon from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

Uranium Mining in Nallamala

Nallamala forest in the Eastern Ghats of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh is under threat from the Departent of Atomic Energy, after its plan to mine Uranium here has been approved by the MoEF. Activists as well as members of the Chenchu tribes are protesting against the move. Among the myriad fauna that inhabits these forests, is the endangered and endemic Yellow-throated Bulbul.

Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

The Wildlife Map of the Greater Bay Area

(Click on the image for a larger view)

The Pearl River Delta in Guangdong, China, is the most densely populated region in the world. Despite this, the river and adjoining areas host a rich diversity of wildlife. From creatures that have made big cities their homes, like the Crested Myna and the Red-billed Blue Magpie, to megafauna that still manages to eke a secretive life, such as the Chinese Serow, the bay shelters more wildlife than its residents can possibly imagine. As the Pearl River drains into the South China Sea, the distribution of biodiversity too takes an interesting course. Hard and soft corals pop up wherever opportunity resents itself in the form of clear waters, while keystone species like the Chinese White Dolphin and the Chinese Bahaba can still be found pulling themselves through in the severely polluted mouth of the Pearl River. Needless to mention, the region faces tremendous conservation pressures, which include habitat loss, water pollution, the world's most rapid rate of urbanization and development.

As part of my field research for the project, I spent a week in China in August last year, visiting some of the key places denoted in the map, and traversing the length of the river. The illustration and its various elements are being used by WWF China and WWF Hong Kong in various awareness material and merchandise. Thanks once again to WWF for commissioning the project!

Apex Predators of the Sea

A comic on plastic pollution done for the Save our Seas Foundation, Seychelles.

Green Ganeshas for the Green You

Here are just a few of the many eco-friendly Ganesha options available in India. Of course, the more creative ones among you can always make one yourself!

Green Humour wishes Indian readers all around the world a very happy Ganesh Utsav.

IUCN Status

The comic appears in Roundglass Samsara and The Hindu BL-ink.

Water and plastic waste

I was invited to be a part of NDTV's live telecast on Gandhi Jayanti (2nd October), called Cleanathon, where I got an opportunity to interact with Mr. Amitabh Bachhan (along with NDTV hosts Swati Thiyagarajan and Vikram Chandra) and speak about aquatic and marine wildlife, and the threats from plastics and litter. I drew a quick cartoon for the show, which was signed by Mr. Bachhan on live TV.

A big thanks to NDTV for the opportunity!

Pollution and the River Ganga

Recently, the Uttarakhand High Court declared the river Ganga a living entity with the same legal rights as a person. Does it help the cause of the river, that has long suffered from sewage and waste dumping, sand-mining, illegal fishing and diversion for canals? 

From my column with Mid-Day today.

North Dakota Access Pipeline

On the North Dakota Access Pipeline from my Gocomics page.

The Lakes of Bangalore

On the plight of Bangalore's disappearing lakes from my column with The Hindu BLink today. 

Marine Environment Awareness Programme

Marine biologists- here's a little idea for your awareness programmes. Happy World Oceans' Day!

The cartoon appears in my column with The Hindu BL-ink.

Bleached Barrier Reef

In what the Australian media has aptly described as a "global tragedy", scientists have been reporting mass bleaching from the world's largest coral reef system. The event has been acknowledged as the reef's worst bleaching episode in history, that will have irreversible effects on marine life. 

The cartoon appears on my Gocomics page today. More on the news here.

The Smooth-coated Otter

Being a smooth-coated otter is no smooth ride!

Here's my 50th comic strip for my column with the Hindu BLink.

The Apex Predator of the Sea

One on sharks and marine pollution that appeared in my column in The Hindu BLink.

Black-bellied Terns

One on birds and pollution published in my fortnightly in The Hindu's BLink last week. 

The Sunderban Oil Spill

A collision between a cargo vessel and an oil tanker in the waters of the Sunderbans Delta resulted in a massive oil spill earlier this week, spilling nearly 350000 litres of oil into critical dolphin habitat. Both the Gangetic and the Irrawady Dolphins live here, along with hundreds of other species, for whom doom is imminent. Deaths of birds and other aquatic animals such as fish and water monitors have already been reported by the locals, and the casualties are only expected to rise. More about the mishap here- http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/3-50-000-litres-of-oil-spills-in-river-as-tanker-sinks-in-sunderbans-633192 

Conservation Threats to Frogs

Frog populations are facing steep declines worldwide. Being amphibious and having porous skins, frogs are susceptible to the most drastic impacts of climate change, which along with the Chytrid Fungus have been reported to be the major threats being faced by them today. Several other factors have also contributed to their extirpation, such as pollution, pesticides and rampant destruction of their rainforest habitats. 

This cartoon appeared last weekend in my fortnightly column in The Hindu's 'Blink.'

(Thanks to Keerthi Krutha for correcting the spelling of Chytridiomycosis on the comic. Keerthi studies frogs and that disease in Western Ghats in India).