Great Indian Bustard Rewilding Begins at Desert National Park

Ten years of breeding the Great Indian Bustard behind wire turned a corner in the Thar. At Desert National Park, Jaisalmer, the process of returning two captive-bred birds to the wild was set in motion during Wildlife Week 2026. Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav took part at the site, while Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma joined through video conference. The birds move out of a soft-release enclosure, and the release into open desert follows the next day. Rajasthan's Forest and Environment Minister Sanjay Sharma and senior officers of the Union and State governments attended.

What was opened and reviewed

The ministers looked over the conservation breeding centres at Ramdevra and Sam, opened a newly built Rewilding Aviary and released a brochure on the bird's journey through the landscape over the decade. The aviary at Ramdevra measures 160 m by 64 m by 14 m and was raised by the Rajasthan Forest Department through the Rajasthan State Road Development and Construction Corporation Ltd (RSRDC) on a sanctioned budget of ₹9.25 crore from the State government. Because it carries no pillars, a bird raised in captivity gets unbroken flying space to build muscle and behave as it would outside before it is let go.

Where the breeding programme stands

A method the programme calls jumpstart slips captive-laid eggs into wild nests; incubating females accepted them and six chicks hatched this way in Rajasthan and two in Gujarat. Telemetry work has shown the fenced grassland inside the park to be the prime breeding ground, which is why the Rajasthan Forest Department keeps adding to it.

Who runs the recovery programme

The Bustard Recovery Programme brings together the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Rajasthan Forest Department and the Wildlife Institute of India, with technical collaboration from the International Fund for Houbara Conservation and money from National CAMPA. Its national action plan covers conservation breeding, habitat management guided by science, threat reduction, habitat restoration and work with villages. A judgement of the Supreme Court, resting on an expert committee's advice, steers what is done for the species.

Why this bird is watched

The Great Indian Bustard is the State bird of Rajasthan and is counted among critically endangered species. Mr Yadav described it as the umbrella species of the Thar and tied its survival to grassland conservation, to land degradation neutrality and to the stopovers migratory birds need along the central Asian flyways, besides the earnings eco-tourism can bring villages nearby. The Chief Minister called the day one of pride for the State and set out the money his government has put behind the programme. A similar effort has begun in Gujarat, where the Union Minister recently inspected the soft-release and conservation facility at Naliya in Kutch.