Great Indian Bustard numbers stable, survives in only 16% of Thar habitat, says report
A recent assessment has found that the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) population in the Thar landscape has remained numerically stable, but the species now survives in only about 16% of its historically available habitat in the region [Unverified — exact percentage from the underlying survey could not be independently cross-checked].
The bulk of the surviving wild population is concentrated around Jaisalmer and adjoining areas of the Thar Desert in Rajasthan, particularly in and around Desert National Park.
Alongside the wild population, a parallel conservation-breeding programme run by the Rajasthan Forest Department with scientific support from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has been expanding the captive population through artificial insemination and assisted breeding.
The findings underline continuing habitat contraction and fragmentation as the primary long-term threat to the species, even where numbers are not currently declining further.
Great Indian Bustard: Conservation Status and Legal Protection
The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) is one of the heaviest flying birds native to India, once widespread across grassland and semi-arid landscapes in multiple states but now restricted to a few fragmented pockets, principally in Rajasthan. It is classified as "Critically Endangered" on the IUCN Red List and receives the highest level of domestic legal protection.
Key Details
- IUCN Red List status: Critically Endangered.
- Legal protection: listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 — the schedule reserved for species granted the highest protection, with the most stringent penalties for hunting or trade.
- It is also the state bird of Rajasthan and one of the species covered under India's Species Recovery Programme.
- Primary threats: habitat loss and fragmentation, collision with overhead power transmission lines, predation, and low reproductive rate (the GIB lays very few eggs per breeding cycle).
The report's finding that GIB survives in only a small fraction of its historical Thar range — even while numbers stay stable — reflects the core conservation challenge for a Schedule I, Critically Endangered species: population stabilisation alone is not habitat recovery, and shrinking range increases vulnerability to any single localized threat.
Desert National Park and Protected Area Categories
Desert National Park, notified in 1981 in Jaisalmer and Barmer districts of Rajasthan, is the single most important protected habitat for the Great Indian Bustard and is central to India's in-situ conservation strategy for the species. As a National Park (the highest protection category under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972), it has more restrictive human-use regulations than a Wildlife Sanctuary, prohibiting activities like grazing and private land rights unless specifically permitted.
Key Details
- Location: Jaisalmer and Barmer districts, Rajasthan; part of the Thar Desert biogeographic zone.
- Area: approximately 3,162 sq. km (around 1,900 sq. km in Jaisalmer district and 1,262 sq. km in Barmer district), making it one of India's largest national parks by area.
- Key species: Great Indian Bustard, along with other threatened desert fauna including the Indian wolf, chinkara, and two Gyps vulture species.
- Category distinction: National Parks (Section 35, Wildlife Protection Act) have stricter restrictions than Wildlife Sanctuaries (Section 26A) — no grazing or private tenurial rights are ordinarily allowed inside a National Park, whereas Sanctuaries permit regulated human activity.
The Thar landscape referenced in the report is anchored by Desert National Park; the finding that GIB now occupies only a limited share of the wider Thar habitat highlights that even a large, high-protection park cannot alone reverse range contraction driven by threats outside its boundary, such as transmission infrastructure and land-use change in surrounding areas.
M.K. Ranjitsinh v. Union of India — Supreme Court and Overhead Power Lines
In M.K. Ranjitsinh & Ors. v. Union of India, the Supreme Court intervened over the threat posed to the Great Indian Bustard by collisions with overhead high-voltage transmission lines used for solar and wind power evacuation in bustard habitats. On 19 April 2021, the Court directed that overhead power lines in an area of roughly 99,000 sq. km of priority and potential GIB habitat across Rajasthan and Gujarat be converted to underground cables where feasible, and ordered installation of bird diverters in the interim, also constituting an expert committee to assess technical feasibility.
Key Details
- Original order: 19 April 2021 — directed undergrounding of transmission lines and use of bird diverters across ~99,000 sq. km of priority/potential GIB habitat.
- Modified order: 21 March 2024 — the Supreme Court scaled back the blanket undergrounding requirement to the smaller "priority" GIB area (approximately 13,163 sq. km), citing the technical/financial infeasibility of undergrounding high-voltage lines over the full area, and allowed continued use of bird diverters with an expanded expert committee to guide implementation.
- The case is frequently cited as a landmark instance of the judiciary balancing wildlife conservation against India's renewable energy (solar/wind) expansion goals in the same desert landscape.
Power-line collision remains one of the principal mortality causes for GIB in the Thar landscape; the Ranjitsinh case set the current legal framework (undergrounding within priority zones, diverters elsewhere) that shapes how transmission infrastructure is built in the very habitat area the new report assesses.
- GIB survives in an estimated 16% of its historical/available Thar habitat, per the recent assessment [Unverified — precise figure not independently cross-verified].
- IUCN status: Critically Endangered; legal status: Schedule I, Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
- Desert National Park: notified 1981; area approximately 3,162 sq. km across Jaisalmer and Barmer districts, Rajasthan.
- Supreme Court's M.K. Ranjitsinh v. Union of India: original order 19 April 2021 (undergrounding across ~99,000 sq. km); modified 21 March 2024 (undergrounding scoped to ~13,163 sq. km of priority habitat).
- Captive breeding population at the Jaisalmer conservation breeding centre grew from around 70 birds in March 2026 to 94 by June 2026, supported by the Rajasthan Forest Department and the Wildlife Institute of India.