Rare Bird Gets New Hope: GIB Chick Beats Critical Stage!
- pradeep
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
A second Great Indian Bustard chick born in Gujarat’s Kutch district through the ‘jumpstart’ conservation technique has successfully crossed the critical 40-day survival stage.
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav shared the update after reviewing Project Great Indian Bustard during the 91st meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife in Coimbatore. He said the second jumpstart attempt at Naliya in Kutch had succeeded, and the chick born on May 21, 2026 had passed the crucial early survival period. (India Today)
What Is the ‘Jumpstart’ Method?
The jumpstart technique involves replacing an infertile egg in the nest of a wild female Great Indian Bustard with a fertile egg from a captive breeding programme.
The wild mother then incubates, hatches and raises the chick naturally in its own habitat. Conservationists hope this method can improve survival chances and help revive the critically endangered species in the wild. (India Today)
Why This Success Matters
The Great Indian Bustard is one of India’s most endangered birds, with its remaining population largely confined to Rajasthan and only a handful surviving in Gujarat’s Kutch region.
The Gujarat jumpstart project became important because only around three female Great Indian Bustards are believed to survive in the Kutch grasslands, leaving very little chance of natural breeding. (India Today)
Earlier Attempt Had Failed
This success comes nearly three months after the first chick born through the same method in Gujarat went missing in April, with officials fearing it may have been taken by predators.
That first chick had hatched in the Naliya grasslands on March 26 after a fertilised egg was transported around 770 km from Rajasthan to Gujarat under India’s first inter-state jumpstart initiative for the species. (India Today)
Captive Breeding Also Shows Progress
The conservation programme has also made progress in Rajasthan, where the number of chicks born in captivity at Sam and Ramdevra has reached 98.
Officials said Project Great Indian Bustard is now moving closer to the rewilding phase, with teams from the Wildlife Institute of India and the forest departments of Rajasthan and Gujarat working to protect the species. (India Today)
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