MP; Move Underway For Reintroduction Of Great Indian Bustard (GIB) In MP Reserves

The avian species had disappeared from Madhya Pradesh 33 years ago.

Sources said that the plan focuses on reintroducing captive-bred chicks and mature birds into restored grasslands to rebuild the Central Indian population.

“We are planning to source the matured birds and chicks from the state-of-the-art Sam Conservation Breeding Centre in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan”, a senior forest officer disclosed to this newspaper on Sunday, unwilling to be quoted.

The forest officer revealed that two primary reintroduction zones, the Ghatigaon wildlife sanctuary in Gwalior-Chambal region and Gandhi Sagar wildlife sanctuary in Mandsaur district in Madhya Pradesh, have been identified as target habitats for the GIB, counted among the heaviest of the flying birds.

Habitat restoration will be undertaken before reintroduction of the GIB, the forest officer said.

Tall grasslands (ranging from two to two-and-a-half ft high) are being actively cultivated and developed in Ghatigaon sanctuary to ensure a seamless settlement, sources said.

“It is a multi-stage process. The initiative is designed as an organized and long-term project”, he added.

The bird species completely disappeared from the wild in Madhya Pradesh by the mid-1990s.

The last sightings occurred in the early 1990s.

Karera Wildlife Sanctuary in Shivpuri district in Madhya Pradesh was a major habitat where the bustard population grew briefly to over 30 birds in the mid-1980s before habitat changes and a severe hailstorm wiped them out.

Ghatigaon wildlife sanctuary is another habitat where a small number of these birds were once found roaming.

The bird species disappeared from MP due to its habitat loss following unchecked agriculture expansion and poaching and powerlines.

India has a population of hardly 150 GIBs in the wild.

The avian species are found in Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.