Only 4 Great Indian Bustards (GIB) left in Gujarat, less than 150 in India
Minister of environment, forest, and climate change, Bhupendra Yadav addressed the GIB issue
Yadav cited hunting as the reason for the extinction of the critically endangered birds
Updated: Jun 26th, 2023
Union minister of forests and environment, Bhupendra Yadav, during the ‘Green Growth- Vikas Bhi, Sanrakshan Bhi’ dialogue in Ahmedabad on June 25, addressed the questions raised regarding the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB).
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| The Great Indian Bustard |
There may be 4 female Great Indian Bustards left in Gujarat
In 2021, the number of Great Indian Bustards amounted to 17 in the state, which has now decreased to only four birds. Minister Bhupendra Yadav cited ‘poaching’ as a threat to the birds. However, reports also suggest that the existence of the remaining four GIBs is also questionable after the Biporjoy cyclone struck Gujarat’s Kutch.
GIBs have been ‘critically endangered’ since 2021
The Great Indian Bustard, mainly found in Rajasthan and Gujarat, has been categorised as ‘critically endangered’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2021.
In 2021, the Supreme Court constituted a committee to pass directions prioritising the underground laying of overhead power transmission lines, as 18 GIBs die every year after colliding with those lines in Rajasthan.
According to the Wildlife Institute of India, overhead power lines are the biggest threat to the survival of the GIBs.
The committee confirmed plans to build 98% of the length as overhead lines with modifications and denied the approval of 2% of the line in areas that passed through “priority zones” in Rajasthan, whereas 82% of the length has been ratified in Gujarat.
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