The Shark Podcast: Valentine's Day

 

What better day to revive The Shark Podcast than for Valentine's Day? It's that one most overrated and annoying day of the year. I would find just as overrated and annoying if I wasn't single. I buy myself flowers if and when I want. 

That being said, I do have my own list of love songs that I think are truly beautiful. 

1. You're still the one - Shania Twain
2. Always and forever - Shania Twain
3. Ain't no mountain high enough - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
4. Come what may - from 'Moulin Rouge'
5. Lost in your eyes - Debbie Gibson (I wanted to draw the little copepod sitting in the Greenland shark's eyes singing this song)
6. It's your love - Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
7. When you say nothing at all - Alison Krauss
8. Beautiful in my eyes - Joshua Kadison
9. Top of the world - The Carpenters
10. Everything I do (I do it for you) - Bryan Adams
11. Have you ever been in love - Celine Dion
12. Deeper than a river - Olivia Newton-John

Why so paranoid?

 

I'd scribbled this idea down ages ago and it still cracked me up so I'm glad I finally got around to drawing some version of it! I will probably make this paranoid shark a recurring character. 

The Shark Podcast: Shark Awareness Day

 

I almost missed "Shark Awareness Day". I'm very aware that I've not been participating in all the many many #SharkWeek posts because a) it's not airing here, b) I've been quite caught up with work and c) I didn't find any of the episode titles that catchy. But I didn't want to miss the shark action so finally got around to do some comics.

I'm really happy there's a Shark Awareness Day - because a friend who isn't a shark-freak (yet!) reminded me of it this morning so obviously it is reaching people and making them aware. 

Shark Awareness

 

Sorry I'm a day late with these! It's been a while since I did a comic with the other characters and the human so it seemed rather apt. 

Sharktivity #24: Atlantic Weasel Shark finds its View-Master 3D (Couch series #2)

I have now enough sharktivities to fill calendars for the next two years (provided we all survive until then)! Now, how many of you have seen a View-Master? Millennials and later gens please don't answer. I've been showing my little nephew my old View-Master and he finds it as fascinating as his iPad so that gives me some hope. My parents got me several "knowledge building" reels and a couple of cartoon ones. Guess which ones are the most worn out?
The Atlantic Weasel shark (Paragaleus pectoralis) is one that I hardly find pictures of - I keep wanting to see photos of those amazing yellow streaks. There isn't much data on them either so they are listed as "data deficient" on the IUCN red list.

Sharktivity #19: Mako Shark stays up to speed

Mako sharks are the fastest sharks in the ocean - thankfully they have all sorts of equipment to help them vent all that speed. I hope that kind of looks like a treadmill.
The more common Mako is the shortfin Mako (Isurus oxyrinchus). These beautiful and incredible sharks are hunted for sport by people with brains that have some sort of short-wiring. They are now considered endangered on the IUCN red list.

Sharktivity #18: Angelshark spends way too much time online!

Sometimes I think that this is all that the angelshark can do during a lockdown - lie down and explore the internet. This is one of those sharks that I dread drawing - it's not even that sharkish! There are several types of angelsharks (this is another generic one) and once used to be quite common.

However, angelsharks are now listed as CRITICALLY ENDANGERED in the IUCN red list - this means they are one step away from being extinct in the wild. :(

I hope this angelshark is looking at happier things online.

Good Vibrations

I really do enjoy these takes on the ampullae of Lorenzini. "A shark's hearing is adapted to detecting very low-frequency vibrations such as those made by a struggling fish"*. But I bet they pick up happy things too.

P.S. - In case you haven't picked up on it, this is a tribute to the Beach Boys as well.

*http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/white_shark/hearing.htm

Be sensitive and sensible.

Did you know that a shark can sense you in the water in many different ways? It can see you, smell you, hear you, feel you and feel you. The lateral line of a shark can sense pressure changes in the water and their ampullae of Lorenzini can pick up the faintest of electrical fields. Except, they have better things to do than stalk you for the sadistic pleasure of it.

As much as I love the song "Every breath you take" by The Police, I always thought it was a bit stalkery. I've had a stalker or two in my life (and not because they love my cartoons and want a commissioned piece) which is already a stalker or two too many. I just watched the show "You"which aims to make you almost root for the psycho but victims of stalking would only be sickened by it. It's any day better to be stalked by a shark, than a psychotic human.

May your year be filled with sharks!

How many sharks can you count?

13 Reasons Why (I Love Sharks)

I probably cannot tell you how many times I've been asked the question "Why Sharks?". I usually tell them it's because they ask such a question.
And then I thought about it and decided that I should give them a bunch of real reasons why I love sharks. So I came up with these. Don't worry, I do have a few sarcastic replies as well which will hopefully be another comic strip at some point.

For those of you who don't know, Port Jackson sharks are a type of Bullhead shark species (Heterodontiformes).

If you have a particular reason why you love sharks, do let me know and hopefully I can turn it into a cartoon for the next set of reasons.


I'll get a poster done at some point and it'll probably look like this. So let me know if you'd like one.

ps - I have not watched "13 Reasons Why" nor am I a fan of "Game of Thrones" so my apologies to those shows.

A Shark Lover's Life

Don't get me wrong - I love it when people tag me in or send me shark videos and pictures. I do feel like I've reached some sort of life goal when that happens. For those of you who don't know Phil Watson, check out Shaaark!
I only realised after I drew the Fox that Pink Fong's Baby Shark version has a fox as their mascot. I first heard the Baby Shark song at a camp about 15 years ago. It was just as cool then as it is now. I still get asked why sharks every now and then. I'm working on the perfect response.

The Shark's Poem (Now in technicolor)

A slightly modified version of my Shark poem. It somewhat captures what a shark is and what we have done to the species. We need our oceans, our oceans need sharks, ergo we need sharks. We don't need shark fin soup as much as we need oceans. Hopefully we will see an increase in intelligence in this matter in this generation.
Sharks are usually the main attraction in aquariums. Watching them makes life better even if just for the moment. They're on almost all kids' apparel brands these days (mostly on boys' but girls love sharks as much if not more). Don't let sharks die out.

Was that a Leopard or a Zebra?

I come across pictures of Zebra Sharks (Stegostoma fasciatum) wrongly labeled as "Leopard Sharks" and hence this attempt at an infographic. I understand why people make the error - after all, adult Zebra Sharks have no stripes, let alone any resemblance to a zebra. But it was named as a child and the name stuck.
The Leopard Shark (Triakis semifasciata), on the other hand, doesn't really lounge around on tree branches nor is it found in the Asian/African region. It does have some beautiful markings though.

The two sharks look different enough and they are easy to tell apart. One just has to remember that the ridged, spotted, nurse-shark-look-alike is a Zebra shark.

I taught my 2-year old nephew to identify them and when he saw a Zebra shark at an aquarium he said "Zebra Shark". My sister ignorantly told him it was a Leopard Shark. Luckily one of the workers told her she was wrong and he was right. Another proud aunt moment.

Black Panther vs Black Panther?

A black panther is the melanistic color variant of the big cats. Black panthers in Asia and Africa are leopards (Panthera pardus), and those in the Americas are black jaguars (Panthera onca).

The Leopard Shark (Triakis semifasciata) is an active shark about 120-150cm long found in the Eastern North Pacific regions. Many times, the Zebra Shark (Stegostoma fasciatum) gets mistakenly called a Leopard Shark (more on this soon). The Leopard shark is a species of houndshark.

Not much is known about the Jaguar catshark (Bythaelurus giddingsi). It is found around the Galapagos islands. It is at least 45cm long.

And wasn't Black Panther a really fun superhero movie?

Sandbar Shark Appreciation Day!

The Sandbar Shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) is a species of requiem shark, and part of the family Carcharhinidae. It is distinguishable by its very high first dorsal fin and inter-dorsal ridge. 

The sandbar shark is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List.

It has been rarely associated with threats on humans. And yet, they are probably thrown in the "oh my gawd.... it's a big scary shark" category and fished recreationally (probably for the purpose of selfies). 

Year of the Dog

This year let us learn more about some of the lesser known/ less publicised sharks. They are just as spectacular and interesting. I've drawn a few of them here - they are not easy but enjoyable to draw.
The Dogfish family is one of the largest but many of them have very little known about them. The ones that were abundant have become far less in number. Let us keep them from going away completely.

Mutual learning

I was asked to do a cartoon on what we can learn from the ocean. This one was a bit deeper and more serious than intended so I did a different one for that project (hopefully you'll see it someday soon). But I did like the message of this one so I thought I'd complete it anyway. Quite apt with teachers' day around the corner, isn't it?
I think so much about our planet can be learnt from the ocean. It should be protected and respected but we take it for granted. Ocean life can fill us with awe and wonder every time we encounter it and yet we are systematically destroying it. What an opinion they must have about us!

ps - I do love the idea of these mini-discussion groups around the reef.

No touchy

This was an idea for India's first dive expo - Most divers are extremely respectful towards marine life and that is why one of the first things they insist is for all snorkelers and divers to not touch fish, coral or anything in the water. It's not a petting zoo, people.

Some kind of something: Earth Day 2017

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - which is why I have reused/recycled an old strip and made it a reduced version of what a good Earth Day cartoon should be.
In all seriousness, I do believe that one of Man's primary purposes was to care for this world. It is a good world. It's a beloved world. And we were entrusted with it. We had one job.
I went to an Earth day event today called the Reciprocity Fest - it was a bit enlightening. I'm not as green as I could be. My convenience comes first. That's not a good example for the next generation. I think every beverage joint in the world should offer discounts to anyone who takes in their own reusable mug/cup. Or at least not refuse them service.