Boost for fight to save Great Indian Bustard as chick born through IVF

Scientists said the could significantly improve the bird’s population given its slow reproductive rate.

A chick of endangered Great Indian Bustard was born through artificial insemination in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district, officials said, terming it as a “crucial” step to save the endangered species from extinction.

The main threat to the bustard is the loss of its habitat, considered a wasteland, and therefore, something that is often diverted for large infrastructure projects. (File)

As per official estimates, there are less than 150 Great Indian Bustards in wild in India, 90% of which are found in desert areas of Rajasthan, and the rest in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

“It is a major breakthrough in our effort to save the bustards,” said Ashish Vyas, deputy conservator at the forest department in Jaisalmer.

The Rajasthan Forest Department set up a GIB breeding centre on the outskirts of the Desert National Park in Jaisalmer as part of the Union environment ministry’s Bustard Recovery Program, launched in 2016. The program focuses on captive breeding and creating a sustainable environment for future release of the captive-born GIB into the wild.

Vyas said the scientists at the Jaisalmer breeding center received training from Abu Dhabi-based The International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IHFC) on artificial insemination.

“We have been working on the project for the last three years and have learnt from some initial setbacks,” said a scientist working at the breeding centre, asking not to be named as he is not authorised to speak to media.

Vyas said the sperm of a male GIB named “Suda” from the Ram Devra GIB Breeding Centre was inseminated into a female GIB named ‘Toni’ at the Jaisalmer Centre.

“After successful insemination, a chick hatched from the egg on October 16,” he said, adding that the newborn was doing well.

“With this scientific milestone, we are now better equipped to help rebuild the population and ensure the species has a future in the wild,” Vyas said.

Scientists said that artificial insemination could significantly improve the chances of increasing the Great Indian Bustard population given the bird’s slow reproductive rate and the numerous threats it faces in its natural habitat. To be sure, the main threat to the bustard is the loss of its habitat, considered a wasteland, and therefore, something that is often diverted for large infrastructure projects.

Dr Bhuvnesh Jain, an environmentalist, said, “As the first chick produced through artificial insemination grows, it brings renewed hope that this critically endangered species can be saved.”

In 2022, the Jaisalmer breeding center collected 30 eggs and from them, 24 chicks were successfully hatched. Two of the chicks could not survive. By April 2023, several captive-bred eggs 13 had hatched successfully through artificial incubation. Currently, the breeding centre houses 45 Great Indian Bustards.

The Great Indian Bustard is critically endangered and protected under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It is also the state bird of Rajasthan.