Great Indian Bustard remains absent from Nannaj Sanctuary and Boramani grasslands for second year in a row during census

Kolhapur: The findings of the state forest department's ‘Nisarganubhav' waterhole animal census in Solapur, conducted on the night of Buddha Purnima on May 1, are worrying, officials and experts have said.At the Nannaj Sanctuary, also known nationally as the Maldhok (Great Indian Bustard) Sanctuary, observers failed to spot any of the eponymous endangered birds. The GIB was last sighted in 2024 at the time of the same waterhole census.During the latest census, the grasslands of Nannaj and Boramani documented 1,020 animals. The absence of the GIB from its known habitat has worried forest officials, particularly as Solapur district's forest tourism is centred around this endangered species.Range forest officer Pradeep Kore told TOI, "Every year, as per govt orders, a census of various types of wild animals in the state is conducted on the night of Buddha Purnima under the light of the full moon. A similar census was also conducted at the Maldhok Sanctuary in Nannaj. In this census, for the second consecutive year, the birds for which this area is preserved were not found."He added, "During the census, 14 different wild animals were sighted and counted at the sanctuary, including hare, jackals, foxes, blackbucks, wild cats, nilgai, etc. The total wildlife count during the census was 1,020, of which the highest count was of 445 wild boars."Shivanand Hiremath, a researcher on the GIB, said, "From 2019 till the start of 2025, a female GIB was recorded in the Boramani and Nannaj region frequently. I witnessed this bird getting hit by an electricity cable of a light pole erected in the Boramani region twice. That might have made the bird leave this place."He further said, "The problem here is that the forest department or the administration is not interested in studying the behavioural pattern of the GIB. As far as my knowledge goes, the bustard, besides grasslands, prefers areas where it can find soybean or urad dal farms, so that a hiding place is available. The forest department should try to plant these crops in some part of the forest land, and I am quite sure the GIB will return to Boramani and Nannaj. The biggest threat to the bustard is development and the plantation of tall-growing trees like gliricidia, as well as the Bonelli's eagle."