Recently, a great Indian bustard was born through artificial insemination at the Sudasari Great Indian Bustard Breeding Centre in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district.
- It is an extremely important step in the conservation of the critically endangered species.
- The chick was hatched on October 16, in what was the first birth of a great Indian bustard (GIB) through artificial insemination.
- Dangers: Increased human activity in their habitat, predators preying on their eggs, and deaths due to overhead power lines are seen as being among the causes of the bird’s population decline.
- Population: In 2020, a study carried out by WII of the great Indian bustard (GIB) habitat in and around Desert National Park in Rajasthan estimated that power lines had killed around 84,000 birds of multiple species every year. This included the endangered GIB.
- One egg in a year: The great Indian bustard lays one egg – the size of three chicken eggs – a year.
- The eggs are laid on ground nests, and due to their size, they become easy prey for other animals.
- While the birds try to find isolated areas to lay the eggs, changes in their habitat have meant that such locations are harder to come by. Once the egg is hatched, the bird raises the chick for two years before laying another egg.
