Just 150 left, glimmer of hope for great Indian bustard after first-ever artificial insemination birth in Jaisalmer

“This is an highly important measurement successful the conservation of the GIB, which is an endangered species,” said Pavan Kumar, Chief Wildlife Warden of Rajasthan. He said a akin inaugural had been started successful Abu Dhabi, wherever a task by the International Fund for Houbara Conservation has been utilizing artificial insemination to hatch the houbara bustard.

“A squad of researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India went to Abu Dhabi to larn the techniques of artificial insemination to instrumentality it connected the large Indian bustard. In this manner, we volition beryllium capable to prevention different endangered taxon also,” said Pavan Kumar.

According to the government, determination are less than 150 GIB – birds that are recovered lone successful India. Most of these are recovered successful Rajasthan.

Increased quality enactment successful their habitat, predators preying connected their eggs, and deaths owed to overhead powerfulness lines are seen arsenic being among the causes of the bird’s colonisation decline.

In 2020, a survey carried retired by WII successful the 4,200-sq-km of the large Indian bustard (GIB) situation successful and astir Desert National Park successful Rajasthan estimated that powerfulness lines had killed astir 84,000 birds of aggregate taxon each year. This included the endangered GIB, which are peculiarly susceptible due to the fact that of their constrictive frontal imaginativeness and ample size.

In April 2021, the Supreme Court had ordered that each powerfulness lines successful the GIB situation beryllium buried underground. However, earlier this year, the apex tribunal said it would reappraisal its 2021 bid aft the cardinal authorities recovered that it would beryllium “practically intolerable to implement” implicit agelong distances.

As portion of conservation efforts, the Centre, the Rajasthan authorities and WII person been collaborating connected a captive breeding programme for GIB. The artificial insemination method was successfully implemented arsenic a portion of this project. The program is to yet merchandise the captively bred birds into the wild.

According to wildlife experts, portion the commencement of the GIB chick by artificial insemination is an important measurement successful conservation efforts, it is excessively aboriginal to speculate connected the grade of the interaction this could have.

Wildlife biologist Sumit Dookia, from the University School of Environment Management astatine Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, said, “This is portion of a captive breeding task that has been going connected since 2019. While this is simply a affirmative measurement successful the close direction, it volition instrumentality astatine slightest 25 years to beryllium capable to make capable birds (in this manner) to let for earthy summation of their colonisation aft they are released successful the wild.”

“Moreover, these efforts volition not beryllium fruitful until we are capable to prevention the chaotic GIB habitat, which is getting destroyed owed to quality footprint and improvement activities,” helium said.

Dookia said the large Indian bustard lays 1 ovum – the size of 3 chickenhearted eggs – a year. The eggs are laid connected crushed nests, and owed to their size, they go casual prey for different animals. While the birds effort to find isolated areas to laic the eggs, changes successful their situation person meant that specified locations are harder to travel by. Once the ovum is hatched, the vertebrate raises the chick for 2 years earlier laying different egg, according to Dookia.