Only around 150 of which birds are said to be found in India?

The recent condition of the Great Indian Bustard is now witnessing a worse situation where this beautiful bird’s population is amounted to be around 150 in India. Once considered as the national bird of India, the Great Indian Bustard is dying slowly. The threats majorly include the dogs who hunt them or the live wires which pass by their habitats or the quickly reducing grasslands. According to the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), only 150 of these prevail in the nation. This survey revealed that in Thar, Jaisalmer, the total count of the GIB is 120 whereas in Maharashtra and Karnataka the count is just 22.

The GIBs are dying at the rate of 15% annually due to collision with high voltage power lines, the WII report had said, adding that their population has been reduced by 75% in the last 30 years.

The report had compiled various studies conducted by researchers across the country on GIBs.

“Mortality of adult GIBs is high due to collision with power lines that criss-cross their flying path. All bustards are prone to collision due to their poor frontal vision and inability to see the power lines from a distance,” it had said.

The GIB is one of the heaviest flying birds endemic to the Indian subcontinent.

They are primarily terrestrial birds with adult males as tall as 122 cm and weigh 11-15 kg and adult females reach up to 92 cm and weigh 4-7 kg, the WII said.

According to the report, the GIB lays one egg every 1-2 years and the success rate of these eggs is 60-70%. However, this rate has been reduced to 40-50% due to predators like fox and dogs.

As per researchers, apart from the GIB, many other birds also die because of collision or electrocution with these transmission lines at the rate of 10 birds per km per month totaling nearly one lakh bird deaths annually in 4,200 sq km.

 

Picture Credit : Google