In the midst of the exhaustive Desert National Park in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, a flock of 8-10 large graceful birds scurried along. In that one sighting, slightly less than 10% of the entire wild population of the Great Indian Bustard was spotted. This is an extremely worrisome fact.
The Great Indian Bustard with an estimated population of less than 150, spread across grasslands of India and Pakistan, is listed as critically endangered by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
One of the main threats faced by this species, which came second in the race to become India’s national bird, is due to collisions with high power transmission lines. Over 15% of the non-natural deaths of this beautiful birds are high transmission lines. The high number of collision with high tension cables is due to the Great Indian Bustards’ narrow frontal eyesight and heavy mass. They are blessed with a sharp horizontal eyesight to maximise predator detection but at the expense of their frontal vision. Furthermore their large mass makes it difficult for them to manoeuvre through the powerlines, hence increasing the chances of collisions.
A campaign has been launched to pressurise the Minister of State (IC) for Power and New and Renewable Energy to replace these cables with underground ones, in order to reduce collisions. You can help this by supporting Conservation India’s campaign.
Another major threat to the Great Indian Bustard is the loss of its grassland habitat. This species has already lost over 90% of its habitat for agricultural purposes. Fortunately, the Government of Rajasthan, the state with the highest population of bustards, have begun a campaign by the name of “Save the Great Indian Bustard”, to help conserve their habitat and increase the population of this magnificent bird.
Some of the other threats to this species include attacks by feral dogs and hunting in Pakistan. Currently, despite efforts, the Great Indian Bustard is loosing the battle for survival and needs all our support. You can help this species by volunteering and donating to the “Great Indian Bustard Project.” Some experts believe that the reintroduction of cheetahs may revive the grassland habitat of these magnificent birds.
Help us Help Them! Think Wildlife Foundation is a non profit organization with various conservation initiatives. Our most prominent campaign is our Caring for Pari intiative. Pari is a rehabilitated elephant at the Wildlife SoS Hospital. 25% of the profits from our store are donated to the elephant hospital for Pari. Other than buying our wonderful merchandise, you could donate directly to our Caring For Pari fundraiser.