New Hope for Critically Endangered Great Indian Bustard: Project GIB Adds Three Chicks; 26 chicks hatched so far in fourth year of captive breeding: Union Minister Bhupender Yadav
Project Great Indian Bustard (GIB) has added three more chicks to the conservation breeding programme in the last couple of days, taking the total number of chicks hatched so far in the fourth year of captive breeding to 26, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav said on Sunday.
Sharing the development on social media platform X, Yadav said the three new chicks emerged from one wild-collected egg and two captive-laid eggs. He said the captive stock has now grown to 94 birds, with more chicks expected this season.
The Minister said that in the fourth year of GIB captive breeding, 26 chicks have hatched so far, including 18 through artificial insemination, four through natural breeding and four from wild-collected eggs.
Yadav further said that in exchange for the wild eggs, three chicks have hatched in the wild in Rajasthan through jumpstart intervention to improve founder genetic diversity and mitigate predation risk.
The "Jumpstart" intervention is an innovative conservation technique used to boost the genetic health and survival of endangered species. It involves replacing a wild—often infertile—egg with a fertile one raised at a captive breeding center. The wild parent then incubates and rears the chick, thereby combining the benefits of captive genetic diversity with wild rearing.
The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) is India's most critically endangered bird. It is one of the heaviest flying birds in the world, characterized by its horizontal body, long bare legs, and ostrich-like appearance. As a flagship species of grasslands, it serves as an indicator of the ecosystem's overall health.