Great Indian Bustard (GIB) - Godawan

 Birds are indicators of the environment, if they are in trouble, we know we'll soon be in trouble!

The Great Indian Bustard, a species of bird in India is on a brink of extinction, with only 150 individuals remaining. Found mostly in Rajasthan, it is one of the heaviest flying birds in the word. After been poached for several years, many acts and projects are in place today, protecting and conserving the lives of the few remaining  birds that may soon cease to exist. 

The Great Indian Bustard was initially considered to be chosen as the national bird of the country. However, on account of the chance of it being misspelt or confused for a foul word, it was taken out of the running and replaced by the peacock. 

During our recent trip to Desert National Park, in the midst of the exhaustive area a flock of 7-8 graceful birds scurred along at a distance. We saw them at two different times of the day. In those two sightings slightly less than 10% of the entire world population of the GIB was spotted. This is an extremely worrisome fact. 

The grace with which these birds traverse the huge grasslands, feed and flock together is truly remarkable. Despite their huge size, its difficult to spot them due to they blending seamlessly into the grasslands.

The GIB's are difficult to photograph due to hazy skies but we managed to capture a few frames which depict the true essence of the birds and their habitat that is critical for their survival. 

The fall in the population of the GIB's has been consistent over the decades. The biggest threat to their shrinking habitat has been industrialization, mining and intensive agricultural practices. 

The Indian governments' focus on welfare and conservation of large mammals like tiger, lion and elephants has not helped GIB's cause either. 

I hope these birds make into the future and the efforts are paid off to all those who are working towards their conservation!