Bird islands: On India’s bustard conservation programme

This week, at the Desert National Park in Jaisalmer, two male Great Indian Bustards were released into the wild . It was a ceremony with considerable bureaucratic pomp; the Union and the Rajasthan Environment Ministers were in attendance. The conservation plan now has 97 birds, with nine more awaiting release. Of these, 57 are captive-bred and have produced 29 chicks this year and 24 last year. These are notable numbers for a species with a population of around 120 that has teetered on the brink of extinction for nearly half a century. It is worth recounting the bird’s conservation travails. Ornithologist Salim Ali wanted it as the national bird, so that protection would follow; the Indian Board for Wildlife chose the peacock instead. Numbering about 1,260 in 1969, it dipped to 600 by 2000, and 140-175 in Rajasthan by the 2010s.