Rajasthan’s State bird may be extinct soon

Rajasthan’s State bird may be extinct soon

News

The state bird of Rajasthan, Great Indian Bustard (GIB) has been declining in numbers over the past several years

Important Facts

Great Indian Bustard

1. The Great Indian Bustard, one of the heaviest flying birds, was categorised as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2011
2. Habitat in India: Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary (Gurgaon), Desert National Park (Rajasthan) and the Lala-Parjau sanctuary in western Kutch (Gujarat)

Concerns:

1. With rampant hunting and declining grasslands, the population of the Great Indian Bustard has dwindled.
2. Project Bustard launched in 2013 by the Rajasthan government have not made significant progress.
3. No progress has yet been made on the proposal for establishing a captive breeding centre at Sorsan in Kota district and a hatchery in Jaisalmer’s Mokhala village for conservation

Suggestions

1. A group of wildlife conservationists has advocated setting up an incubation unit at Jaisalmer district’s Sudasri (considered the sanctum sanctorum of the Desert National Park) so as to step up recruitment rate of the bird species.