The release of two captive-bred Great Indian Bustards into Rajasthan’s Desert National Park marks a milestone in India’s conservation efforts. But with habitat loss, power-line collisions, and other human pressures threatening the species, can rewilding secure its future?
On October 4th, 2026, two captive-bred male Great Indian Bustards (GIBs) were released into Rajasthan's Desert National Park (DNP) near Jaisalmer, marking the culmination of decades-long conservation efforts by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC), and the Forest Departments of Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. The GIB population had long been depleted by hunting, habitat conversion, and human infrastructure, leaving only about 150, and prompting a conservation breeding and habitat improvement project that ran its first phase from April 2016 to July 2024.
The official final report states that the project found that power line expansion caused a significant number of bird deaths. So too did collisions with wind turbines. But there is certainly happier news regarding water availability, as Forest Departments and local wildlife enthusiasts alike have made contributions to help.
But then again, the very necessities of human survival, including agriculture, have led to natural habitat shrinkage for the GIBs. Grasslands are seldom, if at all, recognised as protected areas, and afforestation, even if well-meaning, does indeed pose a threat to the natural life cycles of flora and fauna native to these regions. One of the most noted bustard experts, Asad Rahmani, wrote in 2008:
"Ironically, one of the biggest threats to grasslands is not from the graziers, but from the forest department. To live up to their name, officials of the forest department consider their solemn duty to convert every grassland (and even wetlands) into a forest."
Credit: The Indian Express
The project, led by Dr Sutirtha Dutta, saw major developments between 2019 and 2024, including the construction of two conservation breeding centres at Sam and Ramdevra in Rajasthan and the collection of eggs from wild nests, which were thereafter artificially incubated. The hatched chicks were then carefully monitored and reared in a manner least stressful to the hatchlings.
The housing for the captive-bred birds was modelled closely on their natural habitat—grasslands—and their naturally omnivorous diet was overseen by the project to ensure nutritional requirements were met. Furthermore, all centres provided intensive veterinary care to ensure the birds' health at each life stage, including timely vaccinations.
As these birds approached natural breeding age, mating was supervised to maximise hatching success, resulting in as many as 13 captive-bred chicks from these copulations, and a total of 44 birds in the program by the end of Phase 1. Since then, 24 chicks in 2025 and another 29 in 2026 were also bred in captivity.
A rewilding aviary was set up at the Ramdevra Centre, and a soft-release facility at DNP, with the two male, tagged GIBs released in protected areas. Union Minister for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Bhupendra Yadav, took part in the release and posted about it on X.
In a milestone move, released two male Great Indian Bustards in Sam, Desert National Park, Jaisalmer, today morning.
— Bhupender Yadav (@byadavbjp) October 4, 2026
This landmark success has been made possible by the nearly decade-long unwavering dedication of our scientists, researchers and ground staff who have spent years… pic.twitter.com/IiDZzJKyIv
The project plans to improve artificial insemination techniques to scale up captive production and increase egg collection, potentially increasing genetic diversity. On the other hand, supervised predator translocation and/or sterilisation would be taken up to allow wild nest hatching and reduce natural predation.
The project also intends to expand GIB habitat in Rajasthan by burying powerlines underground or rerouting them entirely, as well as installing bird flight diverters. However, the Government still needs to take action to curb mining operations that undermine conservation efforts.
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