വംശനാശഭീഷണി നേരിടുന്ന വലിയ ഇന്ത്യൻ ബസ്റ്റാർഡ് പക്ഷികളെ സംരക്ഷിക്കുന്നതിന്റെ ഭാഗമായി, രാജസ്ഥാനിലെ ഡെസേർട്ട് നാഷണൽ പാർക്കിൽ വളർത്തിയെടുത്ത രണ്ട് ആൺ പക്ഷികളെ വനത്തിലേക്ക് തുറന്നുവിട്ടു. പ്രോജക്റ്റ് ജിഐബിയുടെ കീഴിൽ കൃത്രിമമായി വിരിയിച്ചെടുത്ത പക്ഷികളെ കാട്ടിലേക്ക് വിടുന്ന ആദ്യ ഘട്ടമാണിത്.
Wildlife Institute of India scientists released two male great Indian bustards (GIB) in Rajasthan's Desert National Park on Sunday morning, marking the first step in rewilding captive-bred GIBs raised at two conservation breeding centres at Ramdevra and Sam, Jaisalmer, under Project GIB.
The project is being implemented for the long-term recovery of the critically endangered bird. Only about 150 GIBs remain in the wild.
"In a milestone move, released two male Great Indian Bustards in Sam, Desert National Park, Jaisalmer, today morning. 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 to ensure GIB reclaims the deserts of Rajasthan," Union Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav wrote on X.
Yadav and Rajasthan Minister of Forest, Environment, and Climate Change Sanjay Sharma were present on the occasion.
The conservation breeding centres were established to raise a founder population of GIBs that could be rewilded, a measure against the declining wild population. From 2019 onwards, wild-collected eggs were incubated artificially, and chicks were hand-reared. Later, these hand-reared birds mated in captivity.
At present, there are 98 such captive-bred birds in these facilities. Around 86 of them are being maintained for captive reproduction, and 11 have been earmarked for release into the wild.
Species recovery programme
"The release of captive-bred GIBs represents the next critical step in the species recovery programme and will provide important scientific learnings for progressively developing and refining protocols for reintroduction of captive-bred birds into their natural habitat," the environment ministry stated in a press release issued Saturday, after the initiation of the rewilding process.
Yadav said Saturday that the GIB was important for grassland conservation, land degradation neutrality, and working as an important stopover for migratory birds that travel from the Central Asia flyway.
The Central Asian flyway is a large migratory corridor stretching across 30 countries from North to South Asia, connecting the Arctic and Indian Oceans.