Three Great Indian Bustard chicks placed in rewilding tunnel in Jaisalmer
Three captive-bred Great Indian Bustard (GIB) chicks were placed in a newly built rewilding tunnel at a conservation breeding facility in Jaisalmer
The ₹9.25 crore facility is designed to acclimatise captive-bred birds to wild conditions while minimising human contact before eventual release
The chicks are expected to remain in the tunnel for a monitored period before release into the surrounding desert habitat
The initiative is part of the broader captive-breeding and species-recovery programme for one of India's most critically endangered birds
Great Indian Bustard — Conservation Status and Legal Protection
The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) is one of the heaviest flying birds and among the most endangered birds in the world, with its last viable wild population confined largely to Rajasthan's Thar Desert region. It has been classified Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2011, reflecting a population collapse from thousands of individuals in the early twentieth century to a small remnant population today.
Key Details
- Listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 — the highest protection category, covering species facing the highest risk of extinction
- IUCN Red List status: Critically Endangered (since 2011)
- Also listed in Appendix I of CITES (highest trade-restriction category) and covered under the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)
- Estimated wild population: roughly 150–200 individuals, the vast majority in Rajasthan, with small numbers surviving in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh
The rewilding tunnel is a direct response to this critical population status — captive breeding alone cannot recover the species unless captive-bred birds can be successfully reintroduced into the wild, which is what the tunnel is designed to enable.
Species Recovery Programme and Conservation Breeding
Great Indian Bustard conservation breeding in Rajasthan is carried out under the "Project Great Indian Bustard" initiative of the Rajasthan Forest Department, in technical collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), and is funded partly through the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAMPA). The GIB is also identified as a recovery-priority species under the centrally sponsored Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (IDWH) scheme.
Key Details
- Conservation breeding centres exist at Sam, Ramdevra, and Sorsan in Rajasthan, operated jointly by the Rajasthan Forest Department and the Wildlife Institute of India
- The rewilding tunnel forms part of this network, marking a shift from pure captive breeding toward supported reintroduction into the wild
- Eggs are collected from the wild for "headstarting" — artificial incubation and hand-rearing to improve survival rates before eventual release
- Funding mechanisms include CAMPA and central wildlife habitat development schemes
The tunnel represents the next stage of this recovery pipeline — moving hand-reared chicks from captivity toward independent survival in the wild, rather than keeping them permanently in captivity.
M.K. Ranjitsinh v. Union of India — Power Lines and Habitat Protection
In a landmark 2021 order, the Supreme Court directed that overhead power transmission lines running through Great Indian Bustard habitat in Rajasthan and Gujarat be undergrounded where feasible, or fitted with bird diverters, after finding collisions with power lines to be a leading cause of GIB mortality. Balancing this with India's renewable energy (solar and wind) expansion in the same desert landscape, the Court delivered a final, modified judgment in December 2025 that sought to reconcile bustard protection with sustainable energy development.
Key Details
- Original Supreme Court order: April 2021, covering roughly 99,000 sq km of identified GIB habitat across Rajasthan and Gujarat
- Remedies ordered: undergrounding of existing/new power lines where feasible, and bird diverters where undergrounding is not feasible
- Final modified judgment: 19 December 2025, balancing GIB protection against renewable energy infrastructure needs in the same habitat
- Power-line collisions, alongside habitat loss and low reproductive rate, are cited as leading causes of GIB decline
Habitat-level protection from power-line mortality (addressed by this case) and captive-breeding/rewilding efforts (addressed by the Jaisalmer tunnel) are complementary strategies — reintroducing captive-bred birds is only viable if the wild habitat they are released into is also being made safer.
Desert National Park — Protected Area Framework
Desert National Park, spread across the Jaisalmer and Barmer districts of Rajasthan in the Thar Desert, is one of the largest national parks in India and among the last strongholds of the wild Great Indian Bustard population. It was established to protect the fragile desert ecosystem and its associated species.
Key Details
- Category: National Park under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 — the most restrictive protected-area category, where no human activity other than approved conservation-linked use is permitted (unlike a Wildlife Sanctuary, which allows limited regulated human activity)
- Area: approximately 3,162 sq km
- Location: Jaisalmer and Barmer districts, Rajasthan, in the Thar Desert
- Serves as the intended release site for captive-bred GIB chicks following successful rewilding
Desert National Park is the ultimate destination for chicks passing through the rewilding tunnel — the tunnel is essentially a controlled halfway step between the captive breeding centre and free-ranging life within this protected area.
- Facility cost: ₹9.25 crore
- Location: conservation breeding centre at Ramdevra, near Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
- Number of chicks placed in the tunnel: 3
- GIB IUCN Red List status: Critically Endangered (since 2011)
- GIB legal protection: Schedule I, Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972; CITES Appendix I
- Estimated wild GIB population: roughly 150–200 individuals, concentrated in Rajasthan
- Desert National Park area: approximately 3,162 sq km (Jaisalmer and Barmer districts)
- Supreme Court power-line protection order: April 2021 (~99,000 sq km habitat), final modified judgment 19 December 2025