Save the dolphins

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dolphins aren't vegetarian cartoon

Cartoon showing a campaigner for protecting dolphins being disappointed to discover that dolphins aren’t vegetarian.

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A cartoon about the concept that some animal lovers prefer animals that are thought of as nice, cute, gentle etc (which interestingly extends to pet cats, which I frequently see tormenting and killing wildlife)..

The idea refers to some extent to the ‘natural fallacy’, which states that nature is inherently good.

Original version drawn: 1990

Ref a685
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Anthropomorphism

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anthropomorphic animals cartoon

A joke about anthropomorphic animals

Anthropomorphism is defined as the giving of human characteristics to animals and other non-human entities.

The humour is in the fact that the rhino reading a book is an anthropomorphic animal, and is reading a book about anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is the projection of human characteristics onto animals

Ref: a326b

A butterfly with talons – illustration

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butterfly with talons - illustration

A butterfly with hawk talons

An illustration of a butterfly that has talons, turning it into a predator

A surreal digital image of a hybrid butterfly/hawk.
Some of the tension in the image comes from the fact that butterflies are perceived as being benign (which they are, being primarily nectar feeders), while birds of prey are perceived as being powerful and aggressive.
Ref a629

Professor Brian Cox cartoon – we are stardust

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professor brian cox cartoon we are stardust

Professor Brian Cox cartoon
We are made of stardust

A humorous comment about the fact that all of the elements apart from hydrogen and helium were created inside stars – so everything is made of stardust

The joke here is that when the tv astronomer Professor Brian Cox says that everything is made of stardust he really lays it on thick in a way that many people, especially women, find very attractive. So here the woman is actually saying that she finds Brian Cox attractive, and it even affects her attitude to slugs

See my book on the nature of the universe
Ref a586
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Cartoon – creatures from earth that look like aliens

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earth creatures that look like aliens

From my selection of science fiction cartoons
Creatures from earth that look like aliens from another planet

A cartoon showing that life on earth is as weird as extraterrestrial life

This cartoon was drawn many years ago, but is relevant today due to the BBC series Alien Nation, about the bizarre and otherworldly appearance of insects. Fish look pretty weird too don’t you think?

Cartoon reference number: a560

Cartoon – homeopathy for animals

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homeopathy cartoon

Homeopathy cartoon.
Using homeopathy on animals.

The cartoon shows a giraffe being treated with a homeopathic medicine for a bad neck

A cartoon about alternative medicine.
Practitioners of homeopathy and believers in homeopathic remedies often cite the fact that homeopathy seems to work on animals as proof that it works, as animals can’t be influenced by the placebo effect. It’s my opinion that homeopathy seems to work on animals due to a statistical phenomenon known as ‘regression to the mean’, or in other words, they were quite ill and were probably about to get better anyway (or die).
Cartoon reference number: a546
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Lemmings cartoon – the possible consequence of following an authority figure

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lemmings cliff follow leader cartoon

Lemmings cartoon – the possible consequence of following an authority figure

A cartoon showing lemmings jumping off a cliff

One of the lemmings is warning against following a leader – “Never trust an authority figure – and definitely don’t follow one.”
This isn’t a cartoon warning about all authority figures, or all forms of following – after all, we need a bit of respect in our society. It’s a cartoon about blind allegiance and where it can take you, especially when the person who is being followed has his head turned by power
Cartoon reference number: a536
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Tufted duck illustration

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tufted duck illustration

Tufted duck illustration
Stylised illustration of a tufted duck

An ornithological illustration of a tufted duck (Aythya fuligula)

This design was inspired by the tufted ducks in my local pond in their breeding plumage – specifically the bright yellow eye against the black plumage of the head.
Cartoon reference number: a506

Animal trap and animal intelligence – cartoon

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Clever animal trap cartoon

A hunter trapping animals cartoon

Showing a hunter and a trap or snare set to capture a wild animal.

The trap which is baited with food, and a monkey is approaching it with a hook and line to get the food without setting off the trap.
However, the trap is a sham or decoy trap, and the monkey is trapped in another, real trap

A cartoon about hunting, hunters, trapping, trappers, animal intelligence, intelligent apes, snares, clever animals

Cartoon reference number: a470

Endangered species cartoon – the fur trade

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fur coat and fur trade cartoon

An environmental cartoon about the fur trade and fur coats

A cartoon of an affluent fashionable woman buying a fur coat. The shop sign above the coat reads “Rare furs”
The shop assistant is saying “And getting rarer by the day, madam!”

The message of the cartoon is that some people are totally intellectually divorced or disconnected from the environmental and ecological impact of their actions, with economic and other factors such as social status taking precedence over environmental factors.
In this case the woman and the man are only interested in the status of the fur coat as a fashion item and as a status symbol – to the point that they are actually pleased that they are contributing to the endangered species status of the animal that provided the fur for the coat, as the rarer the animal the more valuable the coat becomes – an economic argument (of very dubious merit) rather than an ecological one

Cartoon reference number: a468
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Seal hunters cartoon

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seal hunters cartoon

Seal hunters cartoon
Fur trappers

A cartoon showing hunters making a hole in the sea ice in order to trap seals.
Meanwhile, a hole is being cut round the trappers.

A cartoon about the fur trade, trapping, seal hunting
An earlier version of this cartoon appeared in my book of environmental cartoons, When Humans Roamed the Earth, published by Earthscan/WWF in 1991

Cartoon reference number: a459

Roadkill cartoon. Roadside wildlife guidebook cartoon.

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Roadside wildlife roadkill cartoon

Roadkill cartoon
Roadside wildlife identification guidebook cartoon.

A cartoon showing a nature guide book for identifying roadside wildlife, in which the images of the wildlife are all squashed by car tyres or are bird strikes

A cartoon about wildlife destruction on roads due to impacts with vehicles.
Animals and birds as victims of vehicle impact
Cartoon reference number: a455
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Big game hunters cartoon – hunting endangered species

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big game hunters hunting butterfly cartoon

Endangered species cartoon

Cartoon of big game hunters shooting a butterfly because other species of animal are going extinct due to human pressure and lack of conservation measures

A humorous illustration about endangered species, conservation, species extinction, extinct species
An previous version of this cartoon was published in my environmental cartoon book, When Humans Roamed the Earth, published by WWF/Earthscan

Cartoon reference number: a451

Save the smallpox virus – cartoon

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Save the smallpox virus - cartoon

Save the smallpox virus – cartoon

A parody on “Save the Whale” T-shirts and other T-shirts with slogans or messages on them
It’s also a cartoon about our attitudes to different species of animal, and which ones we feel moved to want to save (usually cute, cuddly, furry ones).

It’s also about animal rights, and where they should stop.

First version drawn: 1991

Cartoon reference number: a446

Noah’s ark cartoon – why there are no unicorns

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Why there are no unicorns - Noah ark cartoon

Noah’s ark with unicorns cartoon

Why the unicorns didn’t get into Noah’s ark

A comic illustration showing animals going into Noah’s ark, with men dressing up as pantomime horses in order to be stowaways on the ark, after having tied up the unicorns
The image is about mythological creatures, species extinction, extinct animals, endangered species.
Original version drawn: 2001
Cartoon reference number: un444

Endangered species cartoon – mammoth extinction

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Why the mammoth died out cartoon

Extinction cartoon – the mammoth
Endangered species cartoon

An environmental cartoon about conservation and how animal species become extinct due to human exploitation and pressure

In the image a mammoth’s foot has been turned into a wastepaper bin in an office used by a caveman, in a similar way that elephant’s feet were turned into furniture before the implications of such practices were appreciated

Part of the joke here is the anachronism of having a prehistoric caveman sitting at an office desk.

Drawn: 1991

Cartoon reference number: a442

Badger badge art – badger illustration

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badger badge art by chris madden

An illustration of a badger, designed for badger badges

A badger drawing or painting, drawn specifically for badges about badgers.
This image was drawn due to the fact that at the moment there’s a debate in the UK about culling badgers in an attempt to stop the spread of bovine tb

This badger badge design is drawn/painted in a graphic style, as badgers lend themselves very well to a graphic art treatment, being so black and white as they are
Cartoon reference number: a413
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Badger design – another image from a series of badgers

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badger by chri madden

An illustration of a badger

A badger drawing or painting.
This image was drawn due to the fact that at the moment there’s a debate in the UK about culling badgers in an attempt to stop the spread of bovine tb

This badger is drawn/painted in a graphic style, as badgers lend themselves very well to a graphic art treatment, being so black and white as they are
Cartoon reference number: a412

Badger artwork

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badger-by-chris-madden

An illustration of a badger

A badger drawing or painting, drawn due to the fact that in the UK at the moment there’s a debate about whether it’s a good idea or not to cull badgers in an attempt to stop the spread of bovine tb

This badger is drawn/painted in a graphic style, as badgers are lend themselves to a graphic art treatment, being so black and white as they are
Cartoon reference number: a410

Badger illustration

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badger drawing by chris madden

An illustration of a badger

Badger drawing or painting

A deliberately distorted image of a badger. The graphic art approach to this image of a badger is because the shape and markings of badgers lend themselves to the graphic style. It would look good as a wood block print or similar craft image .
This drawing was created due to the current debate about culling badgers to try to stop bovine tb.
Cartoon reference number: a409

African elephant logo

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logo with African elephant - with map of Africa as ear

African elephant logo

A logo about African wildlife, featuring an African elephant with a map of Africa as its ear

This illustration may make a suitable logo for a wildlife organisation or environmental campaign group campaigning against the killing of elephants for the ivory trade.
A logo on the theme of “Save the African elephant”
Ref a638

halloween lanterns in garden to scare cats – cartoon

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halloween lanterns to scare cat cartoon

Autumn gardening cartoon – halloween cartoon

Cartoon showing a gardener painting halloween lantern faces onto his prize pumpkins.

He is painting the halloween faces onto the pumpkins in an attempt to scare cats away so that they don’t damage his garden (such as by using his freshly dug seed beds as a cat toilet).

Cartoon reference number: a272
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Creepy crawlies on garden flowers cartoon

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bugs on flowers cartoon

Garden insects cartoon

Cartoon about garden insects on flowers.

A gardener looking closely at a flower and noticing the tiny insects that are living on it that had been unnoticed until he examined the bloom closely.

The gardener is saying ” It’s wonderful how every spring I’m newly surprised by the incredible shapes and colours of the flowers in the garden – and of the insects that are hiding between their petals.”
A cartoon about garden wildlife, secret life in the garden, invertebrates, nature, natural gardening, organic gardening, eco-friendly gardening.

Cartoon reference number: a288
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Frogs spawning in garden pond – garden gnomes cartoon

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frogs spawning garden gnomes cartoon

Garden wildlife cartoon and garden gnome cartoon

Cartoon of a garden pond that has garden gnomes round the edge holding coils of barbed wire in order to keep cats away from the pond

The garden gnomes are being used to protect the frogs and fish in the pond from the local cats.
Cats are a problem around garden ponds, especially in the frog spawning season.

Garden gnomes are normally holding fishing rods, spades, wheelbarrows or other gardening implements. Gnomes holding barbed wire is a novelty.
Part of the joke is that this particular type of garden gnome is actually useful rather than just being decorative.

Cartoon reference number: a265
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Vegetable gardening cartoon – cabbage white butterfly cartoon

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cabbage white butterfly cartoon

Vegetable gardening cartoon – a cabbage white butterfly in the veg patch

Cartoon showing a girl seeing a cabbage white butterfly in her parents’ vegetable garden

She is saying “Daddy – a lovely white butterfly has just landed on your cabbages!”

A cartoon about the innocence of childhood, garden pests, gardeners’ banes.

Cartoon reference number: a250

Cartoon about garden birds and bird nesting boxes

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Bird nesting box cartoon

Cartoon about garden birds and bird nesting boxes

Cartoon showing a gardener looking at a bird that is nesting in a birdbox in his garden.
The bird is building a nest in the nesting box and is carrying nesting material to the nest.

The man is thinking “Isn’t that one of my prize delphinium seedlings?”

Birds as garden pests taking seedlings.
The cartoon also about the subject of being taken advantage of – the gardener has thoughtfully and kindly provided the bird with a nesting box, but the bird has then proceeded to take the gardener’s plants. Of course in real life the bird wouldn’t realise what it was doing, but this is a cartoon, and in cartoons animals are often as conscious of their actions as humans are – in fact they are humans in animal form.

Cartoon reference number: a246
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Insect pests in gardens – cartoon

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ants garden pests cartoon

Garden pests cartoons. Ants in the garden

Cartoon about garden insect pests – ants eating food on a garden table

Cartoon showing a man relaxing at a garden table, but with a column of ants eating his cake on the table. The man is reading a manual titled “How to get rid of ants”.

A cartoon about insect pests in gardens, ants attracted to sweet food in a garden.

Cartoon reference number: a239

Wildlife gardening cartoon – a nesting box for robins

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robin bird box - cartoon

Garden humour – putting a nesting box for robins

Cartoon showing a gardener putting a bird box in a tree to encourage birds to nest in his garden

The joke is in the fact that there’s a robin building a nest in the packaging or packing box that held the nesting box kit rather than in the nesting box itself.
Robins are well known for building their nests in unusual places, such as in discarded kettles, tin cans etc.

Cartoon reference number: a218

Garden cartoons – cats watching frogs spawning in a garden pond

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cats watching frogs spawning - joke

Garden pond cartoon. Cats watching frogs spawning in a garden pond

A cartoon showing cats staring into a garden pond in which frogs are spawning

A cartoon about wildlife in the garden, encouraging wildlife, cats catching birds and animals in the garden, deterring cats, frogs’ breeding season, spring in the garden.
Cartoon reference number: a204

Cat toilet cartoon

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cat joke - looking at seed bed

Cat cartoon. A cat looking at a freshly raked seed bed in a garden and thinking of using it as a toilet

One of the problems of cats in gardens is that they often use parts of the garden as a toilet

A cartoon about cats, litter trays, gardening, toilets, seed beds, deterring cats.

Cartoon reference number: a198

Garden pests cartoon

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a bugs guide to garden pests cartoon

Gardening cartoon. A bug’s guide to garden pests

A comic illustration showing a caterpillar or grub (a garden pest) looking at a gardening book or manual about garden pests. The pest shown in the book is a gardener with a canister of pesticide.
The cartoon is in the anthropomorphic tradition common in cartoons.

Cartoon reference number: a196

Garden birds cartoon. A bird feeder to attract predators to the garden

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Bird feeder cartoon for predators

Garden birds cartoon
Garden wildlife cartoon

A bird feeder to attract predators such as hawks and owls to the garden, in the form of a bird feeder with a small bird sitting inside it (like a bird cage)
A cartoon showing how to attract different types of wild bird to the garden.

A cartoon about opposing attitudes to nature – as either a benign force or as being “red in tooth and claw”
Cartoon reference number: gar009
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Baby insect cartoon. Are maggots cute?

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Insect cartoon. An adult insect admiring a baby insect, saying how cute it is. It's a maggot

Insect cartoon
Maggot cartoon

Creepy crawly cartoon.
An adult insect admiring a baby insect, saying how cute and adorable it is. The baby insect is a maggot.
This cartoon is about the way that what we find attractive (or repulsive) is governed by factors of psychology and perception that are dependant on factors within the framework of our existence – such as whether we’re humans or insects. Evolution plays a big part.
Aesthetic judgement is not an independent quality.
Adults are hardwired to find babies attractive, cute and appealing.

A cartoon about aesthetics, beauty, prejudice, larva, larvae, grubs, maggots, aesthetic taste, bias, revulsion, repulsion, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, aesthetic relativism, entymology, evolution.
Cartoon reference number: mag710