Project GIB: Rewilding the Great Indian Bustard and Challenges Ahead

Gist On October 4 , two captive-bred male Great Indian Bustards GIB were released into Rajasthan's Desert National Park as part of a pilot rewilding project. This marks a critical shift from mere captive breeding in enclosures to actually restoring the wild population of a species on the brink of extinction. Aspirants must understand the ecological mechanics of rewilding, the biological vulnerabilities of the GIB, and the systemic challenges of protecting grassland ecosystems against infrastructure development. Background Project GIB is a collaborative conservation effort run by the Centre , the Wildlife Institute of India WII , and the state governments of Rajasthan and Gujarat . Initiated as a long-term project in 2012-13 and expanded with a breeding mandate in 2014 , the initiative involved collecting wild GIB eggs starting in 2019 , incubating them at centres in Sam and Ramdevra , and hand-rearing the chicks. Prior to this development, conservation was limited to captive breeding which has produced 98 birds ; the current release represents the first attempt to reintegrate these birds into natural habitats to artificially boost the critically…