Maharashtra makes efforts to conserve Great Indian Bustards

With the confirmed presence of two Great Indian Bustards (GIBs) in Maharashtra of the total population of 140 in the country, efforts are under way in the state for in-situ and ex-situ conservation of these species as they are on the verge of extinction.

These large birds with a horizontal body and long bare legs, have an ostrich-like appearance - and are one of the heaviest flying birds.

In India, most of these birds are situated in Rajasthan, where it is locally known as Godavan and it has the status of the state bird of Rajasthan.

Besides Rajasthan, Gujarat (25), Karnataka (5) and Maharashtra (2) are among other states where these birds are situated.

The Mumbai-headquartered Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) is leading the conservation of the GIBs.

The two Great Indian Bustards in Maharashtra are found in Nannaj in the Solapur district.

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“Maharashtra is in process of developing a long-term project proposal for saving GIB through Ex-situ and In-situ conservation actions. We have to pull the species out of extinction,” said Kishor Rithe, BNHS Secretary and Interim Director.

Time seems to be running out for the GIBs, a bird that is often compared to the ‘flying fortress’ heavy bomber planes of the 1930s and 40s.

In 1994, GIB was listed as an “endangered species” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

“We collectively failed to save the species; the reasons differ but bustards have disappeared all over their range in the last few decades. It will be an absolute tragedy and shame if we lose this species, despite knowing well the problems associated with it and allowing the situation to spiral out of hand,” said Sujit Narwade, Assistant Director, BNHS.

The situation for GIB is complex, as it involves multiple issues, challenges, and stakeholders. GIB is a large bird and is considered 'extinction-prone' due to its slow life-history traits and struggle for survival in human dominated landscapes. It usually lays one egg, the male does not take responsibility for parental care, and the chick remains with the mother for at least a year to learn survival skills. Increasing human and livestock populations have been exerting immense pressures on its grassland habitat over the past 40–50 years, leaving only small, fragmented, and degraded patches for the bustard (and other grassland fauna) to survive.

“Grasslands are among the most neglected ecosystems, often treated as wasteland or pasture. India's Protected Area network covers only a miniscule expanse of our grasslands - less than 1 per cent are officially protected. Vanishing grasslands, habitat destruction and deterioration, fodder shortage and over-grazing, infrastructural developments such as construction of roads, electric poles, and renewable energy projects like wind turbines and solar panels, mining, industrialization, threats from high tension power lines, and poaching are the major problems for GIB in the last remaining tracts of grassland, especially in non-protected areas,” he added.