March 31, 2026
Badhai Ho! A Great Indian Bustard Is Born
First GIB chick hatched in a decade is a victory for India's conservation efforts
Image by Simerpreet Cheema on Unsplash
What's happening?
A chick of the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard hatched in Gujarat—the first one born in the wild in over a decade
The hatching happened through a clever 'Jumpstart method': a fertile GIB egg was transported 770 km from Rajasthan and successfully hatched by a foster GIB mother who had laid an infertile egg
This effort is expected to revive the GIB population in Kutch, which currently has only three females
The Great Indian Bustard is one of India's rarest birds, with fewer than 150 individuals left in the wild
Why should you care?
The Great Indian Bustard is a key indicator of grassland ecosystem health. When bustards thrive, it means the entire grassland ecosystem is healthy—supporting farmers, livestock, and regional water cycles
Numbers declined dramatically due to overhead power lines (the #1 killer through collisions), habitat loss from agricultural expansion, and infrastructure development like roads, dams, and mining
This effort shows that India's conservation programs actually work when given time and resources—but just one chick isn't enough. Real success will be measured by sustained population growth without needing active conservationist intervention