Save the Great Indian Bustard from extinction.
17 October 2013 -The savannah ecosystems and agro pastoral grasslands present the last vestiges of survival for the Great Indian Bustard, the Lesser Florican and the Bengal Florican - the three bustard varieties found in India and part of the six sub-species of highly endangered bustards on earth. Given that there are no more than 150 Great Indian Bustards in India today, their survival was perhaps never more threatened than now. Even a human activity as benign as agriculture poses a significant threat to the survival of the bird.
The Great Indian Bustard (GIB) is a particularly endangered species, because of the fragility of its home in the dry arid grasslands or savannah ecosystem. High speed winds or heat and humidity, endemic in these regions, can set these grasslands afire. Therefore, the conservation of the habitat of the Bustard needs immediate attention and action.
In India, there are six states with about five leking sites - sites where the Bustards indulge in sexually oriented socialising - where the GIB survives. In Maharashtra there is only one bird, portending the death knell of the species in that state. Conservationist Ramki Sreenivasan of Consevation of India has conducted extensive ground surveys, and lists no more than 5 sites in all of India where they survive in meagre numbers.
Rajasthan's Desert National Park, where the landscape stretches across the border to Pakistan with its million-dollar bustard hunting industry and an established clientele comprised of foreign tourists, harbours the maximum number of about 80-100 birds. Gujarat's Kutch area harbours another 20-25 birds. Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have contiguous leking sites - with a maximum of 20 birds "at optimistic estimates" according to Sreenivasan. Maharashtra has only one bustard. Madhya Pradesh has a maximum of 8-9 birds
These numbers from Sreenivasan draw a very depressing picture about the sustainability of such meagre populations.
The Great Indian Bustard (GIB) is a particularly endangered species, because of the fragility of its home in the dry arid grasslands or savannah ecosystem. High speed winds or heat and humidity, endemic in these regions, can set these grasslands afire. Therefore, the conservation of the habitat of the Bustard needs immediate attention and action.
In India, there are six states with about five leking sites - sites where the Bustards indulge in sexually oriented socialising - where the GIB survives. In Maharashtra there is only one bird, portending the death knell of the species in that state. Conservationist Ramki Sreenivasan of Consevation of India has conducted extensive ground surveys, and lists no more than 5 sites in all of India where they survive in meagre numbers.
Rajasthan's Desert National Park, where the landscape stretches across the border to Pakistan with its million-dollar bustard hunting industry and an established clientele comprised of foreign tourists, harbours the maximum number of about 80-100 birds. Gujarat's Kutch area harbours another 20-25 birds. Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have contiguous leking sites - with a maximum of 20 birds "at optimistic estimates" according to Sreenivasan. Maharashtra has only one bustard. Madhya Pradesh has a maximum of 8-9 birds
These numbers from Sreenivasan draw a very depressing picture about the sustainability of such meagre populations.
Habitat loss
Translocating the birds is also extremely challenging because of its vulnerability. Resident between the latitudes of 8 and 27 degress North, that is roughly between Kanya Kumari to northern Rajasthan in India, the GIB breeds only in the monsoon months and makes arid grassland or savannah ecosystems its home, significantly because its food chain is found in these regions. "The Great Indian Bustard is an omnivorous opportunist but in general its diet changes with the seasonal abundance of commonly available food items, showing a strong dependence on animal food when breeding, and part-substituting plant material in the colder, drier parts of the year," say Rahmani and Manakadan in their book Threatened Birds of India (1987).
As summer temperatures rise in the tropical Deccan Plateau, the reptiles come out of hibernation or ground nesting burrows. The Bustard now gets used to eating reptiles, scorpions, lizards, insects, earthworms caterpillars, centipedes, spiders and worms, birds' eggs etc. Again, as monsoons converge over dry arid grassland ecosystems, transforming them into pastoral lands, the sustainability of the species improves as monsoon crops like lentils nurture their reproduction and sustainability. In the winter months as animal abundance wanes, their diet comprises largely of invertebrates; among the types listed in the literature are grasshoppers, which they supplement with grain and cultivated cereals.
Despite such adaptability, however, its numbers are utterly unsustainable, a key factor being habitat loss. It is very easy to destroy the grassland ecosystem on account of the invisibility of the traditional concept of a fragile ecosystem. Grasslands can easily be misconstrued as fallow land, encouraging industrial growth as happened in Chitradurga district's Chalkere grasslands. Where grasslands have been identified for, among other things, a rocket launch site, a defence R & D lab, a solar energy project, and an amusement park. Without state protection the orphaned bustards resident in such geographies become refugees in their own homes.
Also, as mentioned earlier, grasslands are vulnerable to fires in the dry summer months. Then again, agriculture uses tractors that compact the earth . nesting sites for both the GIB and its prey base. Pesticides . needless to reiterate . threaten the very existence of this largely flightless bird and its food chain / prey base.
As summer temperatures rise in the tropical Deccan Plateau, the reptiles come out of hibernation or ground nesting burrows. The Bustard now gets used to eating reptiles, scorpions, lizards, insects, earthworms caterpillars, centipedes, spiders and worms, birds' eggs etc. Again, as monsoons converge over dry arid grassland ecosystems, transforming them into pastoral lands, the sustainability of the species improves as monsoon crops like lentils nurture their reproduction and sustainability. In the winter months as animal abundance wanes, their diet comprises largely of invertebrates; among the types listed in the literature are grasshoppers, which they supplement with grain and cultivated cereals.
Despite such adaptability, however, its numbers are utterly unsustainable, a key factor being habitat loss. It is very easy to destroy the grassland ecosystem on account of the invisibility of the traditional concept of a fragile ecosystem. Grasslands can easily be misconstrued as fallow land, encouraging industrial growth as happened in Chitradurga district's Chalkere grasslands. Where grasslands have been identified for, among other things, a rocket launch site, a defence R & D lab, a solar energy project, and an amusement park. Without state protection the orphaned bustards resident in such geographies become refugees in their own homes.
Also, as mentioned earlier, grasslands are vulnerable to fires in the dry summer months. Then again, agriculture uses tractors that compact the earth . nesting sites for both the GIB and its prey base. Pesticides . needless to reiterate . threaten the very existence of this largely flightless bird and its food chain / prey base.
Wildlife organisations have got together to launch a campaign to save the Great Indian Bustard which in recent years has come under the critically endangered list. With the total global population of the Great Indian Bustard reaching and all time low at fewer than 150 individuals, this campaign is the need of the hour.
Many experts believe that these birds might be the first species to become extinct in Independent India. This grassland species is extinct from 95% of its range now.
Rajasthan is the last stronghold of the Great Indian Bustard. Fewer than 150 birds survive, of which about 100 live in the Thar Desert. Gujarat has the next largest population of the bird – between 10 and 25 individuals.
I must say that the blog rightly It highlights the importance of the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard, offering valuable insights into its habitat, behavior, and conservation efforts. A must-read for anyone interested in wildlife preservation.
ReplyDeleteThe status of the Great Indian Bustard in India is a cause for concern. With its population declining and facing numerous threats, urgent conservation efforts are needed to protect this majestic bird. Let's come together to safeguard its habitat and ensure a brighter future for this critically endangered species.
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