New hope as ‘Jumpstart’ initiative succeeds with birth of Great Indian Bustard chick

An initiative to boost the population of the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard is showing promising results. A fertilised egg laid in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer has successfully hatched in Gujarat’s Kutch, nearly 770 kilometres away, under the ‘Jumpstart’ initiative. The effort aims to revive populations in regions where male birds are no longer present. The initiative, coordinated by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the State Forest Departments of Rajasthan and Gujarat, and the Wildlife Institute of India, marks the country’s first inter-state conservation attempt of its kind. The egg was transported over a 19-hour journey in a portable incubator and placed in a nest on March 22. The female bird completed incubation, and the chick hatched on March 26; marking the first such birth in the region in a decade. Field teams have confirmed that the chick is being raised by its foster mother, offering fresh hope for the survival of one of India’s most endangered bird species.