Indian Bustard: Experts Hail Conservation Breakthrough
This is an adoption from an article in BBC on the challenges and conservation efforts surrounding the Great Indian Bustard, one of India’s most critically endangered birds. The link to the original article is shared at the end.
I’ll be the first to admit that browsing through mainstream Indian news often feels like plunging headfirst into a sea of political nonsense and tales of woe that do little but raise one’s blood pressure. So, in a bid for something more uplifting, I stumbled upon the BBC and, lo and behold, found an absolute gem of a story. Last month, a small but heartening breakthrough arrived for one of India’s rarest feathered friends—the great Indian bustard.
In a first for India, Rajasthan’s wildlife officials have successfully hatched a bustard chick through artificial insemination. That’s right—a scientific leap of sorts for a bird so rare that even an amateur twitcher would struggle to spot one. This triumph, occurring between two breeding centres in Jaisalmer, involved a male bustard trained to produce sperm without any traditional romance. His contribution travelled a solid 200 kilometres to meet its future mother, resulting in a little chick that conservationists hope might lead to a ‘sperm bank’ for future efforts.
The great Indian bustard, fondly known as ‘Godawan’ in Rajasthan, once graced at least 11 Indian states. Today, you’ll only find about 150 of these massive, solitary birds plodding around the sands of Jaisalmer, dodging predators, poachers, and—worst of all—power lines. They’re skittish, visually challenged in the front (perfect for not spotting those pesky overhead cables until it’s too late), and lay a grand total of one egg every two years. Hardly the breeding powerhouse, is it? Add in the fact that this single egg usually sits unprotected on the ground, and it’s no wonder the numbers have dropped like a stone over the years.
These birds also face a new, man-made menace. Renewable energy farms, drawn to Rajasthan for its sunshine and open spaces, have overrun the bird’s habitat, making collisions with power cables an ever-present danger. Sadly, the Supreme Court recently overturned an order that would’ve made renewable firms place these lines underground—a decision that, in its wisdom, was said to be financially ruinous for the energy sector. Instead, they’ve recommended bird diverters—devices with reflectors—to give the birds a fighting chance. But for a bird with subpar frontal vision, a reflector may not quite cut it.
As a consequence, the bustards aren’t even migrating anymore; they’ve confined themselves to small pockets in Jaisalmer. This doesn’t just make them more vulnerable to predators and accidents but also increases the risk of inbreeding—nature’s unfortunate way of turning up the odds for all sorts of genetic hiccups.
It’s not all gloomy, though. Conservation efforts are underway with two breeding centres in Rajasthan now housing 45 bustards, including several captive-bred chicks. But there’s a catch: these chicks have ‘imprinted’ on their human handlers, essentially making them as wild as a house pet. This bond with humans, while helpful in captivity, weakens their survival instincts—putting them at even more risk if and when they’re released into the wilderness.
Environmental experts warn that renewable energy is but one aspect of Rajasthan’s changing ecology. The region’s natural balance, altered by burgeoning solar and wind farms, may come at a greater cost than anticipated. Debadityo Sinha, an ecologist, raised a point that other states have moved power lines underground to protect at-risk species, and cities across India already have cables buried without much ado.
For now, this critically endangered bird teeters on the edge, caught in a collision course between progress and preservation. But conservationists believe it isn’t just about saving the bird. It’s about safeguarding an ecosystem and ensuring that, in the end, mankind and this rare bird can both thrive—if we’re wise enough to make the space for it.
After all, if we can’t make room for one great Indian bustard, we might just end up losing something far greater in ourselves.
To read the original article click HERE.
All pictures are from BBC.
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