Great Indian Bustard

AHMEDABAD: At a time when the population of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) had gone drastically down from 20 in 2017 to 15 in 2018, Gujarat forest officials are battling another emergency --the solitary male GIB in the state has gone missing.

The absence of the male species could affect any effort at natural reproduction and conservation of the bird. Deputy conservator of forest of Kutch (West) BJ Asari admitted that the only male GIB has been missing from the GIB National Park at Naliya in Kutch.

“Teams of the forest department have been rummaging through the national park spread over 258 sq km daily in search of the male GIB for the past four months now. We fear it may have migrated to some other place due to drought in the area,” said Asari.

Asari admitted that the missing bird could affect GIB conservation efforts. He hoped that the bird may return during monsoon.

GIB population decreases from 20 to 15

A recent International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List on Great Indian Bustard report had said that the population of the large bird had decreased from 20 to15.

Member of the IUCN, India chapter, and GIB conservationist Devesh Gadhvi said, “If there is no male GIB in Gujarat, the possibility of long-term conservation becomes bleak.” The Redlist of IUCN 2018 continues to list the GIB as critically endangered. The report states that smaller populations, fewer than 15-20 birds, are present in Gujarat. The species’ total population was estimated at 300 in 2008 which has now dwindled to 50-249 mature individuals, stated the 2018 report. The IUCN report said the current levels of hunting may result in the extinction of even the largest western Indian population in Gujarat and Rajasthan in the next 15-20 years. “Due to ill-defined land distribution policies, encroachment is a major problem in many bustard areas, especially in and around the bustard sanctuaries of Kutch, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan,” the report stated.

