Rohan Chakravarty's Blog, page 23

The Blue Duke: Sikkim's New State Butterfly

Please join me and the Red Panda (Sikkim's State Animal) in welcoming Sikkim's new Chogyal, err, I mean Duke! The new official state butterfly of this beautiful and biodiverse Himalayan state: the Blue Duke butterfly! Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine. 

Being a Bluestriped Fangblenny

Meet the Bluestriped Fangblenny, a fish that mimics Cleaner Wrasse and bites off its host's flesh! Comic from my column with Roundglass Sustain. 

The Painted Lady Butterfly

Four fascinating facts about the Painted Lady butterfly. Comic from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

The Ecuadorian Lasso on Rainforests

Rainforests in Ecuador could well go the Brazil way if the right-wing government of Guillermo Lasso is allowed to have its way, where Chinese oil extraction companies are being granted licenses for exploration, overlooking indigenous land rights. Cartoon from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

Biodiversity Map of Srinagar

(Click on the image for a larger view)





Being in perpetual political crossfire, it isn't unnatural that the word 'biodiversity' rarely factors when speaking of Srinagar. This map, the biodiversity map of Srinagar, seeks to undo the ignorance of the rich biodiversity of Kashmir's capital, and represent its natural history as a component of the city's vibrant and unmatched culture and heritage.
 Despite being ravaged by eutrophication, Dal Lake, placed right in the heart of the city, hosts a massive population of aquatic avifauna, from resident moorhens and kingfishers to its best kept secret known only by dedicated birdwatchers: the rare Little Bittern, a summer-breeding migratory visitor to the lake! Srinagar's intricate Mughal gardens offer refuge to a variety of Himalayan birds, and the hills of Shankaracharya and Zabarwan on its east are even home to megafauna like leopards, black bears and serows. Kashmir's pride, the Hangul, resides just a stone's throw from the city in Dachigam National Park, and Hokersar wetland in the west receives thousands of migratory waterfowl every winter on their way south. The fields around this bird sanctuary also abound in birdlife, with rare migratory passerines like Pine Buntings and Yellowhammers, and raptors like the Hen Harrier frequenting them. The map pays tribute to Kashmiri weaving and woodwork, two artforms from the region that themselves draw inspiration from biodiversity.
Commissioned by ICLEI and hosted by the Kashmir Forest Department, I had the chance to explore the biodiversity of Srinagar last December, resulting in one of my most memorable field visits. A big thanks to Mr. Latif Khan, Mr. Pervez Shagoo and Mr. Imtiyaz Ahmed from the forest department for their guidance through the project, and to Ms. Monalisa Sen of ICLEI for the opportunity. A high resolution of the map can be viewed and downloaded on ICLEI's Interact Bio website.

Meghalaya Thick-thumbed Bat

It's 2022 and new mammals are still being discovered in India! You read that right. Meet the Meghalaya thick-thumbed Bat Glischropus meghalayanus, discovered and described by Uttam Saikia, Gabor Csorba and Manuel Ruedi. Comic from my Roundglass Sustain column. 

The Snow Leopard does its own stunts

Snow Leopards live life on the edge- literally! Cartoon from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

Woodpeckers of India

Meet India's 32 woodpecker species in this compilation, from the largest, the Great Slaty, to the smallest, the Piculets, and from the most common, the Black-rumped Flameback, to the rarest, the Andaman endemics! The compilation is available as a range of merchandise on my Happywagon webstore.
For orders outside of India, visit my Redbubble webstore here.

Jair Bolsonaro and the Murder of Dom Phillips and Bruno Periera

The murder of British environmental journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian indigenous expert Bruno Periera in the Brazilian Amazon sparked international outrage and condemnation, as Brazil is now is among the most unsafe countries for environmental reporting. While three suspects for the murder have been arrested, Brazil's prime enabler of environmental crimes is on the loose. 
Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

Beehive Fences and Elephants

On beehive fences and their role in minimizing human-elephant conflict in African nations, from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.