TWO GREAT INDIAN BUSTARDS ARE BACK IN THE WILD.
Two captive-bred males are now walking free in the Thar Desert. The release is a test, not a declaration of recovery.
India has released two captive-bred male Great Indian Bustards into the wild at Sam in Rajasthan's Desert National Park. The carefully controlled pilot is the first field test of a decade of conservation breeding, grassland protection and release preparation.
WHAT HAPPENED
The release on October 4 moved two of the programme's 11 birds earmarked for rewilding out of a soft-release facility and into natural habitat. Government facilities at Sam and Ramdevra now hold 97 birds: 40 hatched from wild-laid eggs and 57 bred in captivity. Twenty-nine chicks were produced in 2026. Around 200 square kilometres of fenced grassland inside Desert National Park are being managed as prime breeding habitat. Scientists will use monitoring from these first releases to improve protocols before more birds follow.
WHY THIS IS HOPESLOP
For one of the world's heaviest flying birds, this is not a victory lap. It is the moment a long rescue effort finally meets the wild. The hopeful part is concrete: breeding worked, habitat was prepared, two birds crossed the threshold, and the programme is built to learn from what happens next.
ORIGINAL SOURCEPress Information Bureau of India / Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate ChangeRead the original report
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