Four of the birds laid two eggs each in Rajasthan’s Desert National park; authorities say conservation efforts are paying off
Great Indian Bustard eggs. Photo: Desrt National Park
Great Indian Bustards (GIBs) in Rajasthan’s Desert National Park (DNP) have laid around 20 eggs this breeding season, with four females laying two eggs each. The authorities have given credit to natural factors and conservation efforts for this unique incidence.
“We have had good rainfall this year. This has led to a luxuriant growth of sewan grass (Lasiurus scindicus), which the GIBs use to lay eggs,” Ashish Vyas, deputy conservator of forests (DCF) in DNP, told Down To Earth.
He added that the number of insects and pests had also increased due to the moisture and humidity. This meant there was more food for the big birds.
They were consequently able to lay two eggs. Bustards usually lay only one egg in a breeding season that lasts from March to October.
Kapil Chaandrawal, former divisional forest officer, said park authorities had made an enclosure of about 18 km in circumference and 15.1 square kilometres in area.
The enclosure was predator-proof and had minimum human disturbance, which was one of the reasons that the GIBs were able to lay eggs without any threat. “The construction of the fence began only last year and it was completed by March. We are happy to see that our efforts have borne results,” he told DTE.
Chaandrawal added that a proposal for the construction of another such enclosure had been approved but construction had been delayed due to budget constraints.
“Once DNP gets the funds for it, there will be a bigger area of about 30 sq km where the bustards will stay safe from predators and human activities,” he said.
Vyas said two GIBs had laid two eggs each in 2020, when there had been a locust attack in the region. This phenomenon was repeated this year because of the increase in their feed.
There were around 127 birds in Jaisalmer district according to the last count of the GIB in 2018. The GIB breeding centre was established in 2019 to protect and conserve eggs collected from the wild. Since then, 20 chicks have hatched at the breeding centre while five are on the way.
The DNP authorities are now planning to collect a few eggs from the wild and hatch them in the breeding centre.
“We will only take one of the two eggs from the birds that have laid two eggs as it is very difficult for them to keep two eggs safe from predators like monitor lizards, wild boar and stray dogs.
While collecting the eggs we ensure that if one bird’s eggs have already been taken, we don’t take another one from them. We scour different areas to collect eggs,” Vyas said.
The breeding season will last till October and the DNP authorities are hopeful that the birds will lay more eggs and that the population may have risen since the last count.
“There have been cases of electrocution and deaths due to windmills but the Supreme Court’s orders are being followed now,” Vyas said.
He added that since the number of birds was already very low, the cases of electrocution were also low.
“Since these birds are nearing extinction, even one death can be detrimental to their population. However, we have deployed a number of people in DNP to help in the collection of eggs and are hopeful that our efforts will bear fruits,” he said.
Conservationists called it a happy development. However, the actual situation of the GIB was dire, they added.
“Around 80 per cent of the GIB’s habitat is outside the DNP and that is where their future lies. This is what the forest department should be working on. It should develop a long-term conservation plan with local stakeholders and aim for the protection of GIB habitat outside the enclosures,” Sumit Dookia, a wildlife biologist based in Delhi, told DTE.
GIBs roamed over a 30,000 square kilometre area that was outside of the forest department’s control and was mostly community-owned land or land under the revenue department, he noted.
“We can celebrate this small win. But we still need to focus on the power lines in the state that are leading to loss of habitat for the GIBs. These should be transferred below the ground,” Dookia said.
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