9 GIBs( Great Indian Bustard) artificially hatched in Desert National Park in Rajasthan :

1. The joint team had collected 10 GIB eggs from the DNP area. GIB, the state bird of Rajasthan, figures as critically endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list, 2011.

2. Wildlife Institute of India (WII) surveys show that the number of GIB has reduced by 75% in the last 30 years. Currently, the GIB population in India is fewer than 150.

3. Captive breeding is a new ray of hope for the conservation of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB), which is on the verge of extinction. At least 9 GIB have been artificially hatched in the Desert National Park (DNP) in Jaisalmer district. This is a big success for the joint team of state Forest Department and Wildlife Institute of India (WII).

4. The joint team had collected 10 GIB eggs from the DNP area. GIB, the state bird of Rajasthan, figures as critically endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list, 2011, and Schedule-I that accords it the highest level of legal protection under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Wildlife Institute of India (WII) surveys show that the number of GIB has reduced by 75% in the last 30 years. Currently, the GIB population in India is fewer than 150.

5. The major reason behind the population of the bird not increasing is primarily because it is a very slow breeder. It lays just one egg in a year and that too in an open place in the dry grasslands. The egg(s) are mostly destroyed by predators such as fox, pigs, dogs, lizard, mongoose and cattle. Apart from this, due to recent developments in the area, like after the canal water reaching Jaisalmer, population of dogs, pigs, Nilgai, has risen which led to the drop in GIB population as well as setting up of the windmills and high voltage power lines in their habitat are another threats to GIB.

6. However, to ensure that the eggs of Great Indian Bustard are not destroyed by predators in their enclosures, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has recently allowed “management” of the predators in Desert National Park.

About Great Indian Bustard (GIB) :

The great Indian bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) or Indian bustard is a bustard found on the Indian subcontinent. A large bird with a horizontal body and long bare legs, giving it an ostrich like appearance, this bird is among the heaviest of the flying birds. Once common on the dry plains of the Indian subcontinent, as few as 150 individuals were estimated to survive in 2018 (reduced from an estimated 250 individuals in 2011) and the species is critically endangered by hunting and loss of its habitat, which consists of large expanses of dry grassland and scrub. These birds are often found associated in the same habitat as blackbuck. It is protected under Wildlife Protection Act 1972 of India.

This species was formerly widespread in India and Pakistan.The bustard is critically endangered in Pakistan primarily due to lack of protection and rampant hunting. A few birds were detected in a September 2013 survey of the Cholistan Desert in Pakistan.

In India, the bird was historically found in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Today the bustard is restricted to isolated pockets in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan (shared with Pakistan).