Raj to Rann: A great Indian wildlife conservation story

Jaisalmer: A Great Indian Bustard (GIB) egg, transported 770 kms by road on March 21 from a captive breeding centre in Sam, Jaisalmer, to Naliya in the Rann of Kutch region of Gujarat, hatched successfully on March 26. This was part of an innovative wildlife conservation effort called the Jumpstart Approach.The critically-endangered cargo made the 19-hour odyssey in a handheld portable incubator through a halt-free corridor, before being placed in a nest where it was naturally incubated by a female GIB. The hatchling that emerged from it marked the first birth of a GIB chick in Gujarat in a decade.The entire operation was coordinated between the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change, the forest departments of Rajasthan and Gujarat, and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav shared the story through a tweet Saturday in which he congratulated the scientists, field officers and wildlife enthusiasts who made this remarkable journey – and its successful conclusion – possible.Only three female GIBs survived in the grasslands of Kutch when there wasn't a single male left in the region about a decade ago, eliminating the possibility of a fertile hatching in the wild. Yadav said a female GIB tagged in Aug 2025 had laid an egg in Kutch, but it was infertile.Yadav mentioned that Project GIB was envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2011 to conserve the majestic but endangered bird in its natural habitats, including in Gujarat, and was formally launched in 2016.The minister stated that the newly hatched infant chick is now being reared by a foster mother in its natural habitat. He described this as a significant achievement in the recovery of the critically endangered species.