New behavior, result of increased feed after heavy rain, hailed as record
New behavior, result of increased feed after heavy rain, hailed as record
The alleged beliefs and recorded observations regarding the egg-laying habits of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) have changed after the recent heavy rains in western Rajasthan. Critically endangered bird species have adopted a completely new habit of laying two eggs at a time after consuming extra protein rich diet during the monsoon season.
The environmentalists of Rajasthan have lauded this as a new record as all experts have been reporting a single set of eggs by the GIB over the course of more than a century of natural history. scientists are working ex situ Breeding of these endangered birds has discovered new trend in Desert National Park (DNP) of Jaisalmer district.
Four female GIBs laid two eggs at a time during the current rainy season in the DNP, while two others were observed to lay two eggs each in the 2020 season. Sutirth Dutta, a scientist at the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII), who is leading the project for breeding rare species, said Hindu So far, six nests containing two eggs have been detected in the DNP.
Dr. Dutta said that 5% to 10% of female GIBs were found to have laid two eggs in the past, but the higher incidence was observed for the first time with signs of a developed habit. “The natural fodder for birds is produced in abundance when there is excessive rainfall in the DNP,” he said. By mid-August, rainfall in Jaisalmer district exceeded 20 mm. Since the gib, which is the state bird of Rajasthan, primarily survives on reptiles, gerbils, grasshoppers, large insects and locusts, a rich amount of feed was produced this year, providing additional protein to endangered birds , who have doubled their clutch size. “In happiness”.
WII team working ex situ Breeding of GIB from last three years. Dr. Dutta said the team had raised one egg from each nest for incubation and hatching under artificial conditions at a facility set up near SAM in Jaisalmer district. The remaining eggs were released into the females’ natural nests.
With the aim of conserving GIBs, whose populations have declined to less than 150 in the wild, the breeding project focuses on endemic species with endemic prioritization, risk characterization and conservation management. The hatching of two eggs in 2020 sparked great curiosity, after which WII experts became vigilant in monitoring the nests to assess whether such an example would be repeated. The team sees the new habit of GIB as an important element of the project’s progress.
The state government’s forest department started a breeding project in collaboration with WII in 2019 to raise a new stock of GIB chicks after a long wait of nearly four decades by environmentalists. Tourism and Wildlife Society of India (TWSI) secretary, Harsh Vardhan said that although the bird species was facing the threat of extinction, the breeding project started only after it went extinct in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. . ,
GIB is now found only in small numbers in western Rajasthan, while Gujarat claims that there are few females left in its Banni Grassland Reserve. When the project began, the Forest Department invited experts from the Abu Dhabi-based International Fund for Haubara Conservation to reside at the DNP and provide guidance on the new breeding facility for the GIB.
Shri Vardhan said that the egg-laying aspect of GIB had received lively attention at an International Symposium on Bustards held in Jaipur in 1980. Most of the experts who participated in the event were unanimous that the GIB laid only one egg, while the famous ornithologist Salim Ali was of the opinion that the bird lays more than one egg. British ornithologists during the colonial period were also cited in favor of the GIP laying one egg at a time.