Great Indian Bustard (GIB)

• The Great Indian Bustard (GIB) has not put in its annual appearance this year too at the Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary in Nandyal district of Andhra Pradesh and its surrounding areas.

ROLLAPADU WILDLIFE SANCTUARY:

• Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary in the Nandyal district of Andhra Pradesh, India. Known primarily as a habitat of the great Indian bustard, the species has suffered a drastic fall in its numbers in the sanctuary in recent years.
• Established as an ideal site for the protection of the bustard in the 1980s.

KEY POINTS ABOUT GREAT INDIAN BUSTARD (GIB) ?

About:

• The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) , the State bird of Rajasthan, is considered India’s most critically endangered bird.
• It is considered the flagship grassland species, representing the health of the grassland ecology.
• Its population is confined mostly to Rajasthan and Gujarat. Small populations occur in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Threat:

• The bird is under constant threats due to collision/electrocution with power transmission lines, hunting (still prevalent in Pakistan), habitat loss and alteration as a result of widespread agricultural expansion, etc.

PROTECTION STATUS:

• International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List (IUCN): Critically Endangered.
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): Appendix 1.
• Convention on Migratory Species (CMS): Appendix 1.
• Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule 1.