📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Original: SVKMBFLY; this edit: MPF
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Rewilding of Rajasthan’s Endangered Great Indian Bustard Begins in Ramdevra
✍️ Amar Ujala · Rajasthan
🗓 04 Oct 2026, 09:15 AM
👁 10
Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav virtually inaugurated the Godawan Aviary and soft‑release centre, marking the start of efforts to re‑introduce the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard into its natural habitat in Ramdevra, Rajasthan.
The Rajasthan government has launched a re‑wilding programme for the state’s critically endangered bird, the Great Indian Bustard, locally known as Godawan, in the desert town of Ramdevra. The initiative aims to breed the birds in a controlled environment and later release them into the wild to restore their dwindling numbers.
The Great Indian Bustard, listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, has seen its population in the Thar region fall to a few dozen individuals due to habitat loss, hunting and collision with power lines. Conservationists have long warned that without immediate intervention the species could disappear from Rajasthan altogether.
As part of the project, a dedicated Godawan Aviary and a soft‑release centre have been set up near the historic Ramdevra shrine. Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav inaugurated the facilities virtually, highlighting the central government’s support for wildlife restoration in arid zones.
The soft‑release protocol will allow captive‑bred bustards to acclimatise to the semi‑natural enclosure before being released onto fenced grassland patches that mimic their historic range. The state forest department, together with NGOs such as the Wildlife Trust of India, will monitor the birds using GPS tags to assess survival and movement.
Officials expect the first batch of birds to be released by early next year, hoping the programme will serve as a model for similar conservation efforts across the Thar ecosystem.
The Great Indian Bustard, listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, has seen its population in the Thar region fall to a few dozen individuals due to habitat loss, hunting and collision with power lines. Conservationists have long warned that without immediate intervention the species could disappear from Rajasthan altogether.
As part of the project, a dedicated Godawan Aviary and a soft‑release centre have been set up near the historic Ramdevra shrine. Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav inaugurated the facilities virtually, highlighting the central government’s support for wildlife restoration in arid zones.
The soft‑release protocol will allow captive‑bred bustards to acclimatise to the semi‑natural enclosure before being released onto fenced grassland patches that mimic their historic range. The state forest department, together with NGOs such as the Wildlife Trust of India, will monitor the birds using GPS tags to assess survival and movement.
Officials expect the first batch of birds to be released by early next year, hoping the programme will serve as a model for similar conservation efforts across the Thar ecosystem.