Great Indian Bustard conservation milestones: 3 born in a day, 4 in a week

Barmer: Three Great Indian Bustards (GIB) chicks hatched in a single day, with a total of four chicks born in just one week after successful artificial insemination at the Sudasari Breeding Centre in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district, marked a significant step forward in the species’ recovery efforts under the union environment ministry’s Bustard Recovery Programme.

The three chicks were born on April 2, while one chick was born on March 28, providing a significant boost to the conservation efforts of this critically endangered species, locally known as Godawans. The Rajasthan forest department set up the GIB breeding centre on the outskirts of the Desert National Park as part of a programme launched in 2016.

“ProjectGIB welcomes three new chicks of the Critically Endangered #GreatIndianBustard on April 2. Eggs laid by the females Rewa, Aman, and Sharky at the Sam Centre on 11–12 March were artificially hatched, taking the tally of captive-bred birds to six so far in 2025 and 20 since captive breeding commenced in March 2023, rekindling hope for rewilding the species in the near future,” the Wildlife Institute of India posted on X (formerly Twitter).

According to officials, the latest chicks were born to four female bustards — Aman, Tony, Rewa, and Sharky — who laid their eggs in February and March. After artificial incubation, one chick hatched from Tony’s egg on March 28, while the remaining three chicks hatched from the eggs of Aman, Rewa, and Sharky on April 2.

All are currently under close observation, said an official.

The Bustard Recovery Programme focuses on captive breeding and creating a sustainable environment for the future release of captive-born GIBs into the wild. On October 16 last year, the programme successfully produced the world’s first GIB chick through artificial insemination.

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In a feathered frenzy of good news, the centre witnessed birth of the six GIB chick in last one month --- one was on March 8, one more on March 9, another one of March 28 and three in a single day on April 2.

“It is for the first time that three chicks have been born in a single day and four in just a week. This development is an encouraging sign for the species’ future. We are also excited that the conservation efforts for the Great Indian Bustard are yielding positive results,” district forest officer (DFO) of the Desert National Park (DNP) Brijmohan Gupta said.

Also Read: GIB habitat restoration project successful, Pune forest dept. to replicate it elsewhere

With these additions, the total population of Godawans in the two centres now stands at 50 — 22 at Sam and 28 at Ramdevra.

The Great Indian Bustard, the state bird of Rajasthan, is one of the rarest bird species in the world.Once widespread across the Indian subcontinent, the Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) has seen its population dwindle to fewer than 200 individuals, most of which are found in Rajasthan and Gujarat, with smaller populations in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.

As one of the heaviest flying birds in the world, the species is critically endangered, listed on the IUCN Red List, included in Appendix I of CITES, and protected under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It is also the state bird of Rajasthan.