Ahmedabad: Gujarat on Monday took another major step towards the conservation of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB), with Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav inaugurating a dedicated soft-release centre at Naliya in Kutch. Three chicks that Gujarat will receive from Rajasthan will be reared at this facility before being released into the wild.The soft-release centre, which will operate alongside the existing facility in Rajasthan, has been developed according to conservation protocols aimed at helping captive-bred birds adapt to the wild. The chicks will remain at the facility for four to five months with minimum human intervention and will be gradually prepared for survival in their natural habitat. Even their feeding routine will not involve direct human contact. The food will be placed discreetly so that the chicks do not associate feeding with humans, officials said.The inauguration assumes significance as the GIB, one of India’s most critically endangered birds, has a severely depleted population in Gujarat. Only three female GIBs are believed to remain in the Naliya landscape, making natural population recovery increasingly difficult.
A male Great Indian Bustard chick has grown past the critical age, giving hope to conservationists in Gujarat
During his visit, Yadav reviewed conservation measures being undertaken across the Naliya landscape. Officials briefed him on restoration of about 11 sq km of grassland affected by the invasive Prosopis juliflora and the construction of 30km of predator-proof fencing covering 15 sq km.The minister was also briefed on the ‘jump-start’ intervention, under which infertile eggs laid by wild GIB females are replaced with viable eggs from the conservation breeding programme. The chick resulting from the second such attempt has survived beyond the critical first three months in the wild, a development described by officials as a significant achievement for GIB recovery in Gujarat.The soft-release facility builds on these interventions by creating a controlled transition between captive rearing and life in the wild.Yadav also flagged off 33 new patrolling and rescue vehicles for deployment across divisions under the Kutch Forest Circle. He sought continued support from locals, particularly pastoralist and agricultural communities in Kutch, which officials said would remain crucial to the long-term success of the GIB conservation programme.
