National Endangered Species Day today; State has only two Great Indian Bustards

On the occasion of National Endangered Species Day, attention once again turns towards the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB), a bird now standing on the brink of extinction in India.

National Endangered Species Day today; State has only two Great Indian Bustards. On the occasion of National Endangered Species Day, attention once again turns towards the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB), a bird now standing on the brink of extinction in India. Once commonly seen across the grasslands of central and western India, the species has now been reduced to less than 100 birds in the wild, according to the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). “Nearly 98% of the surviving population is now confined to the desert grasslands of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, making it the last major stronghold of the species. In Maharashtra, only two Great Indian Bustards are believed to have remained,” said Kishor Rithe, Director, BNHS to The Hitavada. The bird was once sighted in parts of Vidarbha, including areas around Nagpur, Warora...