On Sunday morning, two male Great Indian Bustards (GIBs) took their first flight into the desert at Sam in Rajasthan’s Desert National Park. Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav released the birds as India entered a new phase of its nearly decade-long effort to bring the critically endangered species back to the wild.
These were not birds rescued from the wild. They had been raised through India’s conservation-breeding programme at facilities in Jaisalmer.
In a milestone move, released two male Great Indian Bustards in Sam, Desert National Park, Jaisalmer, today morning. This landmark success has been made possible by the nearly decade-long unwavering dedication of our scientists, researchers and ground staff who have spent years to ensure GIB reclaims the deserts of Rajasthan. I thank PM Shri @narendramodi ji for his continued guidance, encouragement and constant support in ensuring our scientific community can work for the conservation of all our species, including the GIB. #IndiaRewildsGIB
— Bhupender Yadav (@byadavbjp) October 4, 2026
Now comes the harder question: Can a bird bred by humans learn to live without them?
That is what the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Rajasthan Forest Department and their partners are beginning to find out.
The GIB, locally known as the Godawan, is among India’s most threatened birds, with only a small wild population remaining. For years, conservationists have worked on protecting the birds that remain while also building a captive population that could eventually be returned to their natural habitat.
The release of these two males is the first major test of that second strategy.
First, raise a bird. Then teach it to be wild
The journey began much before Sunday.
From 2019, eggs collected from wild GIB nests were artificially incubated and the chicks hand-reared. Over time, some of these birds began breeding in captivity themselves. In March 2023, a chick hatched from an artificially incubated egg laid by captive birds, marking the first recorded instance of GIBs breeding in captivity.
The breeding programme has since expanded.
The Ramdevra and Sam facilities currently hold 97 GIBs. Forty originated from eggs collected from the wild, while 57 were bred in captivity. Of these, 86 are being retained for captive reproduction, and 11 have been earmarked for eventual release. The programme produced 24 live chicks in 2025 and another 29 in 2026.
But producing chicks is only the first part of the equation.
As Dr Tushna Karkariya, Lead Veterinarian with Project Great Indian Bustard at WII, explained to The Better India, young birds require close monitoring before they can even be considered for release.
“Initially, they are dependent on their mothers completely. In the wild, the mothers distance them when required, but here we keep them with the mother for about four to five months,” she told The Better India in March.
The period is important for assessing whether a bird is physically ready for what comes next.
“When we are satisfied with their growth and muscle development, only then do we radio-tag them and release them into the wild,” she said.
Freedom begins before the desert
For the two birds released on Sunday, the transition did not happen at the edge of the desert.
A new rewilding aviary at Ramdevra has been designed as an intermediate space between captivity and the wild. The large, pillar-less structure gives the birds room to fly without the restrictions of a conventional enclosure, allowing them to strengthen their flight muscles and encounter conditions closer to those they will face outside.
This is the idea behind a soft release: rather than moving a captive-bred animal straight from a controlled environment into an unfamiliar landscape, conservationists create a transition period.
The two GIBs were moved through this process before being released at the Desert National Park. They were also fitted with satellite tags so researchers can follow their movements and study how they use the habitat, what they eat and how they adapt.
The first two birds, therefore, are not simply being “set free”.
They are also part of a field experiment whose results will shape what happens to the birds that follow.
And survival is not guaranteed
That uncertainty is built into the process.
Predation and the ability to find food can make the first stages particularly difficult. A bird that has grown up under human care must now make decisions for itself: where to feed, where to move and how to respond to threats.
“The mortality rate will be high, but eventually the success rate goes up as they start adapting,” Dr Karkariya mentioned.
For a species with so few individuals left, those numbers are difficult to ignore. Yet conservation is intended to create enough individuals, knowledge and suitable habitat to give a declining species another chance.
The desert has to be ready too
That is why rewilding the GIB cannot stop at the aviary.
The Rajasthan Forest Department has been restoring habitat alongside the breeding programme, including around 200 sq km of fenced grassland enclosures within the Desert National Park. Long-term telemetry studies by WII have identified these areas as prime breeding habitat for the species.
Two birds, and a much bigger test
When the two males disappeared into the Jaisalmer landscape on Sunday, the conservation team was not watching the end of a project. It was watching the beginning of its most uncertain stage.
Yadav, who witnessed the release, later wrote that scientists Dr Sutirtha Dutta, Dr Tushna Karkariya and Hrishika Sharma became emotional as the birds were released, praising the team behind the programme.
For nearly a decade, the question was whether India could breed Great Indian Bustards under human care.
And now, if the experiment succeeds, the desert could eventually hold a new generation capable of living there without it.
Sources:
‘Bustard Recovery Program: Phase 1 (2016-24) : Final Report’: By Wildlife Institute of India
‘Union Environment Minister releases two male Great Indian Bustards into the wild at Desert National Park, Jaisalmer’: Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Published on 4 October 2026
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thebetterindia.com
