Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) is one of the heaviest flying birds in the world

Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) is one of the heaviest flying birds in the world

¨     Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) is one of the heaviest flying birds in the world.

¨     It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

¨     Fewer than 150 birds remain in the wild.

¨     Its main wild population survives in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, while a smaller population is found in Gujarat.

¨     The second chick produced through the "Jumpstart" technique in Naliya, Kutch district, Gujarat, survived beyond the critical 40-day period after hatching.

¨     The Jumpstart technique involves transferring a fertile captive-bred Great Indian Bustard egg from Rajasthan to Gujarat and placing it under a wild female for incubation and chick rearing.

¨     The technique addresses the problem of infertile eggs laid by the three remaining wild female Great Indian Bustards in Gujarat.

¨     The first Jumpstart chick hatched on 26 March 2026 in the Naliya grasslands but disappeared in April 2026, with predation suspected as the likely cause.

¨     The survival of the second chick beyond 40 days marks a significant milestone in the conservation breeding programme.

¨     The conservation breeding centres at Sam and Ramdevra in Rajasthan housed 98 Great Indian Bustards as of 9 July 2026.

¨     During the 2026 breeding season, 26 chicks hatched through artificial insemination, natural breeding, and wild-collected eggs.

¨     Project Great Indian Bustard is a collaborative conservation programme involving the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), and the Forest Departments of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

¨     According to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, the project will soon enter its rewilding phase, in which captive-bred birds will be released into their natural habitat.