Once common in Rajasthan’s arid landscapes, the Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) has become a rare sight. “We have to wait for hours at a stretch to even spot one,” said Radheshyam Bishnoi, a conservationist and photographer in the city of Jaisalmer as he stood in Degrai Oran—once a thriving habitat for the bird.

Great Indian Bustard (GIB), the state bird of Rajasthan, is on the brink of extinction. Shrinking habitats and land use change due to large-scale renewable energy projects and high-tension power cables contribute to a drastic decline of the population of a large bird endemic to India also known as Godavan.

In 1969, there were an estimated 1,260 Great Indian Bustards. Today, fewer than 130 remain, with over 90% of them in Rajasthan. The species was classified as “critically endangered” under the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List in 2011. In response, India has made several attempts to revive its dwindling population.

Thus, the birth of a GIB chick through artificial insemination (AI) brought hope to bird lovers and conservationists across India. A five-year-old female named Toni was successfully inseminated with genetic material from a two-and-a-half-year-old male named Suda.

Toni laid an egg on September 24, 2024, which hatched a few weeks later at the National GIB Conservation Breeding Centre in Jaisalmer. The chick was named Aarambh, which means “a new beginning.”

Reviving GIB population 

A Great Indian Bustard chick was born through artificial insemination in India in the National GIB Conservation Breeding Centre in Sudasari, Rajasthan. (Rajasthan Forest Department)

Ashish Vyas, deputy conservator of forests at Desert National Park (DNP), told Climate Tracker the national government, the Rajasthan government, and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), have been working on both in-situ (protecting the species in its natural habitat) and ex-situ (breeding efforts in controlled environments like zoos and breeding centers) conservation efforts for the GIB.

Rajasthan has two breeding centers: one in the Desert National Park (DNP) with 16 birds and another in Ramdevra, Pokhran, housing 28. Together, they hold a total of 44 birds in captivity.

Dr. Tushna Karkaria, project veterinarian at Wildlife Institute of India (WII) who played a key role in the success of the experiment, said the project to breed GIB through artificial insemination was inspired by AI breeding of Houbara Bustards and Arabian Bustards.

Karkaria told Climate Tracker that the main challenge was training the male birds to ejaculate using a dummy. When Suda reached the breeding age, the training turned out to be a success, allowing for semen collection. However, timing the insemination in a female was crucial and it could be identified due to the close monitoring and imprinting of the birds.

The team of scientists is now focusing on collecting and preserving GIB semen for future use.

“We are currently at an initial stage and it will take us a few years to ensure the preservation of the semen while ensuring the sperm virility,” Karkaria said. 

Although artificial insemination is not currently planned for large-scale use, it holds significant potential for future conservation efforts, said Vyas and Karkaria. It can be a great tool to maintain genetic diversity, prevent inbreeding, and establish a sperm bank for future breeding needs and support interstate breeding efforts. 

RE projects encroaching bird habitats

Great Indian Bustard electrocuted after colliding with high-tension power lines near Kutch Bustard Sanctuary, Gujarat. (Devesh Gadhavi)

While this new breakthrough offers new hope for the conservation of the GIB, the threats driving the birds’ decline continue to grow. 

India is on a spree to expand its renewable energy capacity, pledging to go carbon neutral by 2070. In November 2024, the country’s total renewable energy capacity surpassed 200 GW, accounting for over 46.3% of its total installed capacity. Of this, solar power contributes 92.12 GW, followed by wind energy with 47.72 GW. Rajasthan ranks first in solar with an installed capacity of 22860.73 MW.

While this puts India on the right path to reducing carbon emissions, biodiversity loss and threat to GIB habitats have increased. The grasslands of Rajasthan are one of the last remaining natural habitats of the GIBs.

Additionally, the crisscrossing high-tension power lines in the desert lead to electrocution of  GIBs when they collide with them during flight.

The GIBs have an excellent peripheral vision but poor frontal vision as their eyes are on the side of their heads, making the chances of their collision with power lines higher. Since they also fly at low height (within 20-40 feet above ground), the possibility of collision with power lines installed at similar heights becomes higher. 

Grasslands are classified as “wastelands” in state revenue records, and Orans—natural open ecosystems—lacked official recognition, making them easy targets for land diversion. This allows “wasteland” to be repurposed for renewable energy projects.

In 2019, conservationist M K Ranjitsinh, a key architect of India’s Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, filed a writ petition to the Supreme Court, seeking urgent measures to protect the GIB and the Lesser Florican—the smallest in the bustard family classified as ‘critically endangered’ by the IUCN. The petition urged the court to mandate underground power lines to prevent GIB fatalities.

In April 2021, the Supreme Court restricted overhead transmission lines in about 99,000 square kilometers. However, the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) filed an interlocutory application arguing that such an order will make renewable energy projects untenable.

In response, the SC modified the order, forming a three-member committee to review the undergrounding of power lines on a case-by-case basis and ordered for the installation of bird diverters on the transmission lines in 2022.

In March 2023, the committee reviewed power line applications in GIB areas of Rajasthan and Gujarat. In Rajasthan, 98% (2,356 km) of the proposed 3,260 km were approved with mitigation measures like installing bird-diverters, while 2% in critical GIB zones were denied. In Gujarat, 82% of the proposed 4,132 km were approved with safeguards, and 18% in priority habitats were rejected.

But in April 2024, the SC constituted another seven-member committee to reassess potential areas for power line installations. This committee has been tasked with identifying crucial areas—both priority GIB areas and potential GIB areas—where power lines can be installed without damaging the GIB habitat. The committee was asked to submit its final report in July 2024 but it was delayed.

Ranjitsinh, who has been fighting for the conservation of the big birds for years, expressed frustration over government inaction. “There is a lack of will by the government to save the GIB, they want it gone,” he said to the media in November 2024, during a New Delhi conference following the latest Supreme Court order. 

Habitat restoration, rewilding captive-born chicks

A pair of female Great Indian Bustards in their natural habitat in Kalatalao village, Gujarat. (Devesh Gadhavi)

While the artificially inseminated GIB chick can be regarded as a leap in the conservation of species, conservationists like Sumit Dookia warn that increasing the bird’s population through AI and captive breeding will be futile if its natural habitat continues to shrink.

“This breakthrough will be of no use if we keep encroaching upon their habitats, which are already under a lot of threats,” said Dookia, an associate professor at the University School of Environment Management, GGS Indraprastha University, New Delhi.

He noted that in December 2024, the Supreme Court of India directed the Rajasthan government to recognize and protect Orans of Rajasthan and other sacred groves in India by classifying them as ‘forests’ under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. Dookia said this would help slow down the decline of GIBs in the area. 

However, Dookia pointed out the irony of the situation: “On the other hand, we now have a new committee that is looking at potential GIB areas to see the possibility of laying overhead transmission lines—one of the biggest threats to GIBs. If this continues, the GIB will gradually vanish from the wild and exist only in captivity.”

Karkaria acknowledged the concern but said the Indian government is identifying restoration sites in former GIB ranges across Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.

Highlighting the technical aspects of GIB conservation through habitat restoration, Devesh Gadhavi, deputy director of The Corbett Foundation and member of IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Bustard Specialist Group, said that a key factor in GIB conservation was the species’ movement range, which varies from 100 to 1,000 sq km per bird. The Supreme Court’s order emphasizes the importance of priority areas, which span approximately 13,000 to 15,000 sq km in Rajasthan.

“If the existing priority area is maintained, it may be sufficient for the current population, but as numbers increase, additional areas may need to be designated for their movement and survival,” said Gadhavi.

The government of Rajasthan has sanctioned ₹8 crores for a rewilding aviary, a large dome-like structure—14 meters high, 80 meters wide, and 160 meters long—to help rewild the GIB chicks born in captivity. The chicks will be raised in this aviary near Ramdevra in a near-natural environment with minimal human contact. The project is expected to be completed by July 2025.

However, whether these efforts will be enough to save the GIB in the wild amid growing threats to its habitat remains to be seen.