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    Status of Great Indian Bustard and associated wildlife in Thar
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2016) Dutta, S.; Bipin, C.M.; Bhardwaj, G.S.; Anoop, K.R.; Jhala, Y.V.
    Despite unique biodiversity values and dependency of traditional agro-pastoral livelihoods, arid open habitats of India are facing imminent risk due to our neglect and mismanagement. The Critically Endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB) acts as a flagship and indicator of this ecosystem, for which Governments are planning conservation actions that will also benefit associated wildlife. Persistence of this species critically depends on the Thar landscape, where ~75% of the global population resides, yet their status, distribution and ecological requirements remain poorly understood. This study aimed at assessing the status of Great Indian Bustard, Chinkara and Fox alongside their habitat and anthropogenic stressors across ~25,500 km2 of potential bustard landscape in Thar spanning Jaisalmer and Jodhpur districts of Rajasthan. Systematic surveys were conducted in 144 km2 cells from slow-moving vehicle along 15-20 km transects to record species’ detections, habitat characteristics in sampling plots, and secondary information on species’ occurrence. Eighteen teams comprising of field biologists and Forest Department staff sampled 118 cells along 1924 km transect in March 2014. Species’ detection data were analyzed in Occupancy and Distance Sampling framework to estimate area of occupancy and density/abundance of key species. Our key findings were that Great Indian Bustard occupied 5.8 ± 4.4 % of sites, although information from local community questionnaire surveys recorded usage in 27% of sites. Bird density was estimated at 0.61 ± 0.36 /100 km2, yielding abundance estimates of 103 ± 62 in the sampled area (16,992 km2) and 155 ± 94 GIB in Thar landscape (25488 km2 area). During the survey, 38 individual birds were detected. Bustard-habitat relationships, assessed using multinomial logistic regression, showed that disturbances, level of protection and topography influenced distribution. Chinkara population occupied 91.0 ± 3.4% of sites at overall density of 378 ± 57 animals/100 km2 and abundance of 96,291 ± 14,556 in the landscape. Desert Fox population occupied 53.5 ± 8.8 % of sites, at overall density of 33.58 ± 8.17 animals/100 km2 and abundance of 8,558 ± 2,081 in the landscape. Seventy-five percent of priority conservation sites were outside Protected Area. Although some of them benefit from community protection, majority are threatened by hunting and unplanned landuses. This study provides robust abundance estimates of key species in the Thar landscape. It also provides spatially-explicit information on species’ occurrence and ecological parameters so as to guide in-situ site-specific management and policy. Thar landscape supports the largest global population of GIB with the best hope for the species’ future survival. Since this survey was a snapshot at GIB distribution, landscape-scale seasonal use information is lacking but critically required. A satellite telemetry based study should be urgently implemented to prioritize areas for conservation investment.
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    Bustard Recovery Program: Phase 1 (2016-24) : Final Report
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2024) Dutta, S.; Karkaria, T.; Uddin, M.; Jangid, A.K.; Bipin, C.M.; Sharma, H.; Joshi, H.; Gupta, T.; Gupta, S.; Bishnoi, V.; Sonika, B.L.; Supakar, S.; Paul, I.; Pati, A.; Nagar, A.; Purohit, N.; Lawrence, S.; Gujjar, M.; Moitra, M.; Sawant, M.; Krishna, M.; Sakhlani, P.; Kawlni, L.; Kolipakam, V.; Kher, V.; Jhala, Y.V.
    The aim of this project is to aid in the population recovery GIB through a holistic approach that integrates conservation breeding and science informed habitat restoration.
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    Habitat improvement and conservation breeding of Great Indian Bustard: an integrated approach. Annual Progress Report I (April 2016-March 2017)
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2017) Jhala, Y.V.; Habib, B.; Dutta, S.; Dave, Chitranjan; Bipin, C.M.; Singh, Vineet; Yellapu, Srinivas; Bagaria, Priyamvada; Khan, Shaheer
    Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps (hereafter GIB) is one of the rarest birds in the world. With ~200 individuals left, almost exclusively in India, the species is listed as Critically Endangered (IUCN 2011) and Schedule I (the highest protection status, Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972). Their populations have steadily declined by 75% in last 30 years and are facing imminent extinction risk unless serious management interventions are applied. Historically, GIB was distributed throughout western half of India, but, currently they are found in five fragmented pockets. According to our recent population assessment the largest population of 169+70 birds occurs in Thar landscape of Rajasthan (Desert National Park in Jaisalmer alongside Jodhpur). The species has declined due to compounding effects of direct and indirect human exploitations on their slow life-history traits. They were subjected to exhaustive hunting and egg collection in the past that reduced their population to ~1260 birds in 1969. However, their contemporary decline is largely due to prevailing habitat loss as dry grasslands have been marginalized as ‘unproductive wastelands’ and progressively converted to other land uses since colonial times. Recent developments in irrigation and farming technologies have intensified agriculture in bustard habitats and changed cropping practices from seasonal to year-round, intensive crops. This change has led to food scarcity for bustard, pesticide contamination, and habitat loss. Development activities like infrastructural growth (electricity, road and irrigation networks), industries, power projects, and wind turbines have caused severe habitat degradation and disturbance to birds. Being low and heavy flyers, they face high risk of fatal collisions with power-lines, which are difficult to detect from afar. Populations of free-ranging dogs have increased in bustard habitats, and along with native predators (fox, mongooses, and cats), they have increased predation pressure on nests and chicks and reduced recruitment. Past efforts of banning human activities to create bustard Sanctuaries. over large human-use landscapes, without appropriate settlement of land rights, have generated bitterness among local people, lack of conservation support, and backlash. These factors have in turn caused local extinctions from some Sanctuaries. Local people and managers are not sufficiently aware of the conservation benefits of grasslands and the scientific ways to manage them.
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    Bustard Recovery Program: Progress Report
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2022) Dutta, S.; Karkaria, T.; Bipin, C.M.; Uddin, M.; Kher, V.; Sharma, H.; Joshi, H.; Varma, V.; Paul, I.; Gupta, T.; Pandey, D.; Supakar, S.; Nagar, A.; Rathore, S.S.; Yellapu, S; Sakhlani, P.; Kolipakam, Vishnupriya; Qureshi, Q.; Jhala, Y.V.
    The project is implementing conservation breeding of GIB and LF for future rewilding. Sites in Ramdevra and Sorsan were selected for long-term conservation breeding facilities for GIB and LF. Since the construction and operation of new facilities would require a few years, a temporary facility was established in Sam, Jaisalmer, in June 2019 that currently houses 16 artificially incubated hand-reared GIB, and another temporary facility was established in Bijainagar, Ajmer that currently houses two artificially incubated hand-reared LF, from wild-collected eggs.
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    Habitat Improvement and conservation breeding of Great Indian Bustard : an integrated approach Annual Progress Report II (March 2017-April 2018)
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2018) Jhala, Y.V.; Dutta, Sutirtha; Habib, Bilal; Narwade, Sujit; Karkaria, Tushna; Bipin, C.M.; Awasthi, Arjun; Singh, Vineet; Yellapu, Srinivas; Bagaria, Priyamvada; Uddin, Mohib; Supakar, Sourav; Gupta, Tanya; Pandey, Devendradutt; Khan, Shaheer
    The Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps (hereafter GIB) is one of the rarest birds in the world. With ~150 individuals left, almost exclusively in India, the species is listed as Critically Endangered (IUCN 2011) and lies within Schedule I (the highest protection status) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Their populations have steadily declined by 75% in last 30 years and are facing imminent extinction risk unless serious management interventions are applied (Dutta et al. 2011). Historically, GIB was distributed throughout the western half of India, but, currently they are found in five fragmented pockets. According to our recent population assessment (Dutta et al. 2016), the largest population of 140+53 birds occurs in Thar landscape of Rajasthan (Desert National Park in Jaisalmer alongside Jodhpur). The other populations are <15 birds each, occurring in Gujarat (Lala-Naliya Sanctuary and its neighbourhood in Kachchh), Maharashtra (Bustard Sanctuary in Solapur, alongside Chandrapur and Nagpur), Andhra Pradesh (Rollapadu Sanctuary and its neighbourhood in Kurnool) and Karnataka (Bellary) (Dutta et al. 2011). The species has declined due to compounding effects of direct and indirect human exploitation on their slow life-history traits. They were subjected to exhaustive hunting and egg collection in the past that reduced their population to ~1260 birds in 1969 (Dharmakumarsinhji 1971). However, their contemporary decline is largely due to prevailing habitat loss as dry grasslands have been marginalized as ‘unproductive wastelands’ and progressively converted to other land uses since colonial times. Recent developments in irrigation and farming technologies have intensified agriculture in bustard habitats and changed cropping practices from seasonal to year-round, intensive crops. This change has led to food scarcity for bustards, pesticide contamination, and habitat loss. Development activities like infrastructural growth (electricity, road and irrigation networks), industries, power projects, and wind turbines have caused severe habitat degradation and disturbance to birds. Being low and heavy flyers, they face a high risk of fatal collisions with power-lines, which are difficult to detect from afar. Populations of free-ranging dogs have increased in bustard habitats, and along with native predators (fox, mongooses, and cats), they have increased predation pressure on nests and chicks and reduced recruitment. Past efforts of banning human activities to create bustard Sanctuaries over large human-use landscapes, without appropriate settlement of land rights, have generated bitterness among local people, leading to lack of conservation support. These factors have in turn caused local extinctions from some Sanctuaries. Local people and managers are not sufficiently aware of the conservation benefits of grasslands and the scientific ways to manage them.
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    Project Great Indian Bustard: Annual update report 2024-25
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2025) Dutta, S.; Karkaria, T.; Uddin, M.; Jangid, A.K.; Kher, V.; Bishnoi, V.; Sonika, C.K.; Upadhyay, P.; Gupta, S.; Paul, I.; Sharma, H.; Joshi, H.; Pati, A.; Nagar, A.; Lawrence, S.; Gupta, T.; Supakar, S.; Purohit, N.; Gurjar, M.K.; Dagur, T.; Sindha, P.; Sen, S.; Gowda, Y.; Tanwar, K.; Bhosle, O.; Moitra, M.; Kundu, Y.; Phinehas, D.; Sagar, B.; Dobhal, P.; Kapadi, P.R.; Genwa, S.L.; Singh, J.; Ram, A.; Chauhan, K.S.; Prajapat, C.P.; Kawlni, L.; Kolipakam, Vishnupriya
    The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) and Lesser Florican (Sypheotides indicus) remain among the most Critically Endangered bird species globally, with estimated populations of approximately 140 and 800 individuals, respectively. Recovery efforts for these flagship species are vital not only for their survival but also for preserving the broader biodiversity of arid and semi-arid open natural ecosystems (ONEs) in India.
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    Monitoring of Re-introduced tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan - Phase II
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2018) Nigam, Parag; Habib, Bilal; Sankar, K.; Qureshi, Q.; Mandal, D.; Sengupta, D.; Malik, P.K.
    The reintroduction being an intensive process required timely scientific inputs. The Wildlife Institute of India was bestowed with a responsibility of monitoring the reintroduced population with support of the National Tiger Conservation Authority since reintroduction. The animals gradually settled in Sariska, however did not breed for the first four years probably due to high stress levels and lack of inviolate space (Sankar et aI., 2013). High stress levels among the reintroduced tigers was observed due to the prevailing disturbance in Sariska (Bhattacharjee et aI., 2013). The first record of animal breeding was of ST2 in 2012. Village relocation process to create inviolate space for tiger breeding was also initiated simultaneously. A total of 565 Gujjar pastoralist families were relocated from six villages. The reintroduced population was continuously monitored over the years as part of the collaborative initiative between Rajasthan Forest Department, Wildlife Institute of India and National Tiger Conservation Authority. The report of the Phase I (2008-13) and the extended period (2013-15) were duly submitted. The Phase II of the project was initiated in 2015 to primarily study the response of reintroduced tigers and their prey to village relocation efforts and to explore the future population management. The objective of the Phase II were as follows: i. To study the home range and dispersal patterns of the re-introduced tigers and cubs with respect to relocated villages ii. To assess the habitat use by the re-introduced tigers and cubs with respect to relocated villages iii. To study the food habits of the re-introduced tigers iv. To estimate the population of the prey species v. To suggest management recommendations for effective conservation of tigers in the Tiger Reserve The findings of the influence of village relocation on tiger and prey population, and future management scope have been provided in the Annual Progress Report (2015 -16). Findings on the ranging pattern of tigers, factors influencing breeding of tigers, diet, temporal activity, and an update on the age-sex pattern of the tiger population for active population management in Sariska were presented in the annual report (2016 - 17). Here, we summarize our project findings to formulate conservation strategies for long term survival of Sariska's tiger population.
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    Current population status, distribution and threats to Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) in Terai Arc Landscape, Uttarakhand: a pilot study
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2020) Lyngdoh, Salvador
    This pilot study to provide information on the current distribution of Indian pangolin and major poaching hotspots throughout its ranges to suggest appropriate conservation strategies and protection measures for the species. The proposed objectives for this pilot study are the following: a. To review the current status, distribution and threats to the Indian pangolin population in the study area. b. To prepare a standard protocol for the survey and population estimation of Indian pangolin. c. To formulate effective anti-poaching strategies and devise conservation measures for Indian pangolin to help Uttarakhand Forest Department