1. Why Are They Disappearing?

In the 1970s, there were nearly 1,400 of these heavy, ostrich-like birds roaming the Indian plains. Today, almost all of them are gone. Why?

• The Power Line Trap: GIBs are extremely heavy birds with terrible front-facing vision. As India builds massive solar and wind farms in the desert, thick high-tension power lines are strung across the landscape. The birds simply do not see the wires in time to dodge them, making mid-air collisions the leading cause of their death today.
• The “Tree Planting” Mistake: People usually assume planting trees is always good for nature. But GIBs need wide-open, flat grasslands to survive and spot predators. When forest officers mistakenly plant trees in the desert to “improve” the habitat, they actually end up destroying the bustard’s natural home.

2. The Rescue Mission (Project GIB)

Because the wild is currently too dangerous, scientists have taken matters into their own hands to carefully rebuild the population.

• Raising Chicks by Hand: Since 2019, scientists have been carefully collecting wild eggs from the desert, hatching them in incubators, and raising the chicks safely away from predators. They now have a healthy captive flock of 98 birds.
• Back to the Wild (Rewilding): You cannot just throw a captive bird straight into the desert. The young birds are first placed in large, safe enclosures (called a “soft release”) to get used to the natural environment without any human contact. Once fully released, they wear small GPS backpacks so scientists can track their exact movements three times a day.