New strategy to allow GIBs to hatch and grow in the wild

Hindustan Times

10-07-2025

Wildlife officials in Rajasthan have launched a new strategy to allow the Great Indian Bustard (Godawan) to hatch and grow in the wild, moving away from the practice of captive breeding at the Desert National Park (DNP) centre. The GIB population has plummeted to fewer than 200 individuals in the wild, primarily concentrated in Rajasthan's Desert National Park and parts of Gujarat. (HT PHOTO)
The aim is to preserve the bird's natural behaviour and increase its chances of survival in its native habitat.
Previously, Godawan eggs were routinely collected from enclosures and incubated at the breeding centre, with chicks raised in captivity.
According to the new approach, eggs laid in the wild are now temporarily collected for protection, then returned to their original nests shortly before hatching. The initiative has been taken following the Wildlife Institute of India's recommendation, which has allowed to use five eggs annually for the purpose.
Brijmohan Gupta, deputy conservator at Divisional Forest Office (DFO), DNP confirmed the development.
According to the officials, as part of this delicate process, when a Godawan lays an egg in the open desert, wildlife teams discreetly replace it with a gypsum-made dummy egg—identical in weight and appearance. The real egg is transported to the breeding centre, where it is incubated under controlled conditions to protect it from predators and environmental threats.
Once the egg nears the hatching stage, it is carefully returned to the same wild nest, and the dummy egg is removed. This allows the chick to hatch in its natural surroundings and be raised by its mother—never entering captivity.
This time-sensitive approach ensures the mother bird continues to incubate the nest without disruption. Since the dummy egg maintains the illusion of an undisturbed nest, the bird remains unaware of the switch. Upon return of the real egg, the natural rearing process resumes seamlessly, one of the officials quoted above said.
The DNP team, in collaboration with scientists at the breeding centre, initiated this new protocol with two eggs collected from the Ramdevra region. Both are currently undergoing incubation. Once ready, the eggs will be reintroduced to their natural nests to allow hatching in the wild.
Officials said that earlier attempts to hatch and rear chicks solely in captivity often disrupted natural behavioural patterns. In many cases, mother birds distanced themselves from males after realising the egg was missing or damaged. The new method seeks to maintain continuity in nesting behaviour and avoid distress to the female.
'This is a sensitive and science-backed intervention. By temporarily securing the eggs and placing dummies in the field, we are protecting the offspring without altering the mother's natural instincts,' said Gupta.
Meanwhile experts highlight that this method offers the safety of controlled incubation while preserving the vital instincts associated with wild upbringing. It represents a major evolution in Godawan conservation, blending scientific care with ecological sensitivity.
Standing about a meter tall and weighing between 8-15 kg, the Great Indian Bustard is Rajasthan's state bird and one of the heaviest flying birds globally. The species once roamed widely across the Indian subcontinent's grasslands but today, the Ardeotis nigriceps population has plummeted to fewer than 200 individuals in the wild, primarily concentrated in Rajasthan's Desert National Park and parts of Gujarat, with smaller isolated populations struggling in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.