A critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB) chick, born in March through the meticulous jump start technique at the Kutch sanctuary, has died, likely due to predators, despite the deployment of over 50 staff members for its protection. This preventable loss has finally compelled the Gujarat government to revive a proposal for a dedicated breeding centre that had been stalled in bureaucratic limbo for years.
Long-Standing Proposal Finally Revived
The plan to establish a breeding centre with a high-fence predator-proof enclosure, modeled on a functional facility in Rajasthan, is not new. It had been shelved and conveniently forgotten. In October 2022, Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav directed Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Karnataka to submit proposals for GIB breeding centres. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) was tasked with preparing a framework. However, Gujarat failed to submit the proposal on time, according to state forest department sources. The plan gathered dust while the species edged closer to extinction.
After the chick's death, the department has suddenly awakened. A senior officer acknowledged the conservation failure, stating that the proposal had been gathering dust for years. The contrast with the government's other wildlife priorities is stark. A cheetah project in Kutch, proposed in 2023, moved with remarkable speed. Yet the GIB, a species so endangered that there is virtually no room for error in its conservation, was allowed to languish.
Missed Preparations and Immediate Actions
The state government brought a precious egg from Rajasthan, had WII scientists successfully hatch it using cutting-edge techniques, and then handed it over to a forest department that had not even ensured a predator-proof fence in advance. A senior forest official noted that sending another egg seems unlikely now, as the department would not want to risk another chick. The WII team ensured the egg was hatched, but the Gujarat forest department failed to care for the chick. The official emphasized that while preventing predators is difficult, the fencing should have been done well in advance.
The forest department now plans to build the long-overdue predator-proof enclosure and, once ready, bring two chicks and an adult male from Rajasthan to begin a captive breeding programme. The jump start method will also continue alongside habitat restoration. In a communication issued after the chick went missing, the government confirmed that habitat improvement measures such as Prosopis juliflora removal, strengthening of the fenced enclosure, predator translocation, and water management are being undertaken by the forest department to maximize survival chances in future attempts.
Interstate Tensions Over Bird Transfers
Notably, Gujarat and Rajasthan have previously clashed over a male GIB. Rajasthan refused to transfer the male bird to Gujarat, particularly after the last male in Kutch's GIB sanctuary went missing in December 2018. Whether Rajasthan will now trust Gujarat with more birds remains an uncomfortable question.
