India Begins Rewilding Great Indian Bustards as Two Captive-Bred Males Are Released in Jaisalmer

4 October 2026· RajasthanNationalRajasthan

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav released two captive-bred male Great Indian Bustards into a protected enclosure in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan on 4 October, the first rewilding step in the nine-year conservation breeding programme run by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) with the Rajasthan Forest Department. The programme, begun in 2016, has produced about 98 captive-bred chicks; globally, released captive-bred bustards survive at roughly 48 per cent. The birds are tagged for tracking before any free release. The release fell during Wildlife Week (2-8 October) and follows Buxa Tiger Reserve receiving its first reintroduced tigress from Bihar's Valmiki.

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The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) is Rajasthan's state bird, locally called Godawan, and is Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List | Desert National Park near Jaisalmer holds most of India's surviving wild population | It is listed in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972

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