BRINGING BACK THE BUSTARD

The Great Indian Bustard, once a contender for national bird status, is now critically endangered. Can the captive breeding programme in Rajasthan reverse the tide?

- ROHIT PARIHAR

Two temperature-regulated shelter homes in Rajasthan, some 170 km apart one near the famous dunes of Sam and the other next to Pokhran-house 23 chicks of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB). They have never seen the outside world and will never be released. Scientists have hatched them from eggs in captivity and will wait for them to breed. The chicks of the founder population', as they are called, will then be released into the wild. For the woefully endangered GIB, it's a matter of life and death, and a lot hinges on the success of this project.

The GIB, which decades ago had been in the running to be India's national bird, today seems to be fighting a losing battle. Listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and accorded the highest protection under India's Wild Life (Protection) Act, it has lost over 90 per cent of its natural range. Only about 150 GIBS are left globally, and all are in India. Of them, most are in and around the Desert National Park near Jaisalmer, the only breeding habitat, with Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra now accounting for less than 10 birds each. So far, efforts at conservation have been a sombre journey, punctuated by optimism and perseverance but also roadblocks and disappointment. The captive breeding project may be a silver lining against this experience, but it's not without challenges.