National Endangered Species Day Today: GIB, once stood chance to be National Bird… Now, The lost one… soon to be the last
National Endangered Species Day Today
GIB, once stood chance to be National Bird… Now, The lost one… soon to be the last
GIB, once stood chance to be National Bird… Now, The lost one… soon to be the last
Once stood under consideration for being the National Bird, Indian Great Bustard now close to extinction with Madhya Pradesh failing to restore the population owing to lack of follow-up on the project. The state failed at conserving The Great Indian Bustard and now, the failed attempt will cost us the decommissioning of two wildlife sanctuaries.
As we observe Endangered Species Day and usually people celebrate it by learning about, and taking action to protect threatened and endangered species, it is a wake-up call to work more for our birds. The day is observed every year on the third Friday in May.
MP has two wildlife sanctuary which were famous for their Great Indian Bustard population. Karera Wildlife Sanctuary and Ghatigaon Wildlife Sanctuary were the two designated sanctuaries for the endangered Great Indian Bustard. However, the parks are about to be decommissioned because of no GIB sighting in over a decade.
The government of MP tried to repopulate the state with two GIB, however, there was no follow up on the same.
GIB was once taken into consideration for being the national bird of India, today stands on the brink of extinction. Great Indian Bustard or Indian Bustard, a species native to the Indian subcontinent, was known for its ostrich-like appearance. A bird which had a total population around 1200-1500, today the population is reduced to 150 odd, as per figures shared by forest officials and cited on the report published on the national park’s website.
The bird species were found in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, MP and Rajasthan.
MP was home to the majestic bird, however, rampant poaching and shrinking natural habitat led to the total extinction of GIB population in the state. The bird species was declared critically endangered in the year 2011, after the loss of 90% of the total bird population.
As we observe Endangered Species Day and usually people celebrate it by learning about, and taking action to protect threatened and endangered species, it is a wake-up call to work more for our birds. The day is observed every year on the third Friday in May.
MP has two wildlife sanctuary which were famous for their Great Indian Bustard population. Karera Wildlife Sanctuary and Ghatigaon Wildlife Sanctuary were the two designated sanctuaries for the endangered Great Indian Bustard. However, the parks are about to be decommissioned because of no GIB sighting in over a decade.
The government of MP tried to repopulate the state with two GIB, however, there was no follow up on the same.
GIB was once taken into consideration for being the national bird of India, today stands on the brink of extinction. Great Indian Bustard or Indian Bustard, a species native to the Indian subcontinent, was known for its ostrich-like appearance. A bird which had a total population around 1200-1500, today the population is reduced to 150 odd, as per figures shared by forest officials and cited on the report published on the national park’s website.
The bird species were found in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, MP and Rajasthan.
MP was home to the majestic bird, however, rampant poaching and shrinking natural habitat led to the total extinction of GIB population in the state. The bird species was declared critically endangered in the year 2011, after the loss of 90% of the total bird population.
|
Year |
Population in the country |
|
1970 |
1200-1500 |
|
2011 |
250 |
|
2018 - 2023 |
150 |
Failure of GIB conservation in MP
--as shared in the forest report update
Despite the species being declared critically endangered in the year 2011, there was no proper safeguards to prevent the remaining GIB population.
The efforts to repopulate the GIB in bird sanctuaries in MP never actually saw any real progress.