R''than: Two Great Indian Bustard chicks hatched through artificial incubation

08 JULY 2019  Last Updated at 7:26 PM | SOURCE: PTI

Jodhpur, Jul 8 In what could prove to be a major breakthrough in conservation of the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard, two chicks have been hatched through artificial incubation at the Desert National Park here.

Six eggs had been collected for artificial hatching.

One chick was born on June 21 and the other was born on July 6. Both are healthy and being monitored very closely by a team of experts, officials said.

"This success would lay the foundation for captive breeding in India for this huge bird and set a precedent for others," said a veterinarian associated with project, Sharavan Singh.

Experts from Abu Dhabi have been taking care of the chicks round the clock.

A wildlife expert associated with Great Indian Bustard conservation efforts, Sumit Dukia, said both the chicks are from same family so there was no doubt about their survival.

"We look forward to successful hatching of the remaining eggs. It would be a huge success in the direction of conservation of this endangered bird," he said.

The experts feel that given the persistently hostile conditions of their habitat, artificial incubation is the only way to protect and help increase the population of this bird.

According to the experts, high-tension electric cables have claimed the lives of six Great Indian Bustards in the past two years.

Dukia said the local community will have to be sensitised and educated so that it can become the first guardian of this bird which is on the verge of extinction.

The Rajasthan High Court is also hearing a petition for the safety and conservation of the bird, with a focus on identification and elimination of the threats it faces and a project for its conservation through breeding. CORR DIV DIV

Source

Yellow Bittern spotted in Rajasthan in a rare sight after three decades

WRITTEN BY Kartikey Dev Singh 

Updated: Sep 20, 2018, 06:20 AM IST

It is said that nature is the biggest mystery and from time to time, the natural world throws surprises in front of us. One such surprise has been unfolded before the eyes of a few keen ornithologists in Jaipur and Tonk district. The ornithologists have not only managed to witness a random incident but also unearth unique avian behavior which has not been reported in the state in the past three decades.

The issue currently keeping the ornithologists on their toes is the sighting of Yellow Bittern in a small pond on the border of Jaipur and Tonk districts. However, mere sighting of the bird is not the case for festivity amongst avian lovers, the fact that a nesting has occurred and nowadays, the bird is seen with a hatchling is the cause of their celebration.

“It is for the first time that this species is found breeding in Rajasthan in several decades. Even when it bred in the state, there were no records of it moving westwards into Rajasthan and hence, this sighting is a record in itself,” says Kailash Meena, an avid ornithologist who sighted the bird.

Continued  

Steppe Eagles under threat

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Mumbai: The serious threat from the veterinary drug - diclofenac - to various species of vultures has been known for a long time. Research now shows that the killer drug seems to be preying upon other birds of prey too. A paper published today in the Cambridge University Press journal - Bird Conservation International – by scientists from BNHS-India, UK-based Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, has revealed that two Steppe Eagles found dead at a cattle carcass dump in Rajasthan had diclofenac residue in their tissues.

Steppe Eagles under threat

The recent findings based on the tests carried out on the bodies of the two Steppe Eagles found in Rajasthan showed the same clinical signs of kidney failure as seen in Gyps vultures after they had ingested diclofenac. Researchers have observed extensive visceral gout, lesions and uric acid deposits in the liver, kidney and spleen of the two birds and diclofenac residue in the tissues.

Steppe Eagle is a winter visitor to most areas in northern and central India and some areas in western and eastern India. It also feeds on carcass dumps. Other species of Aquila eagles that are known to frequent carcass dumps include Tawny Eagle, Eastern Imperial Eagle and Indian Spotted Eagle. Steppe Eagle is closely related to Golden Eagle found in the UK, the vulnerable Spanish Imperial Eagle and other globally vulnerable or declining Eurasian eagles. Scientists now fear that all species in this genus, known as Aquila, are susceptible to diclofenac. With fourteen species of Aquila eagles distributed across Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe and North America, this means that diclofenac poisoning should now be considered a global problem.

Continued

Is forest authority apathy helping lead to the extinction of Rajasthan's state bird?

By SUDHANSHU MISHRA

PUBLISHED: 22:10, 31 May 2013 | UPDATED: 02:00, 1 June 2013

Great Indian Bustards, a critically endangered species, are facing grave threat in the Desert National Park Rajasthan, thanks to potential apathy by state forest authorities.

Despite frequent incidents of poaching of the bird in DNP, the forest department has reportedly referred the inquiries to those officers who are facing allegations of involvement in the crime.

The Great Indian Bustards are incidentally the state bird of Rajasthan. 

One incident of alleged negligence by the forest department came to the fore recently when the son of a forest official was caught red-handed by villagers at the DNP's Sudasari range in Jaisalmer district on May 13. 

The authorities preferred not to register an FIR despite a directive from the chief minister's office, following a written complaint from a local Pradhan, Laxmi Kanwar, on May 23.

A copy of the written complaint that refers to three incidents of poaching – including one on December 20, 2012 and another on March 25 -- is in possession of Mail Today.

Ironically, the forest department referred the case to the same DNP office for inquiry where the official, whose son is allegedly involved in the case, is posted.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2334151/More-critical-Indian-Tiger-Is-forest-authority-apathy-helping-lead-extinction-Rajasthans-state-bird.html#ixzz2V0TOOYzJ