Saving India's Heaviest Flying Bird: New Mapping Reveals Safe Havens for the Great Indian Bustard

Scientists at the Wildlife Institute of India have identified 16 high-priority conservation zones spanning 18,000 square kilometers in the semi-arid Deccan landscape to protect the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard. Once widespread across 11 Indian states and parts of Pakistan, fewer than 150 individuals remain in the wild, with southern populations in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh facing extinction.

The bird, which can grow up to a meter tall and is among the heaviest flying birds, thrives in open grasslands and low-intensity agricultural fields. Satellite data and environmental layers revealed that only 6.6% of the 720,000-square-kilometer Deccan Plateau remains suitable habitat for the species. The bustard's survival depends on a delicate balance of seasonal rainfall, vegetation greenness, and open spaces for courtship, nesting, and hunting.

Researchers found that bustards prefer areas with higher proportions of fallow agricultural land and native grasslands, with lower densities of dense forests. Field surveys across Maharashtra confirmed recent sightings in 72 key areas, though none were observed during the study. The bustard's decline is attributed to rapid land transformation, including the conversion of traditional dryland farms to high-intensity cash crops like sugarcane and cotton, along with the expansion of roads, irrigation canals, and power lines.

Traditional wildlife sanctuaries have struggled because the bustard naturally moves across large agricultural mosaics. This study utilized precise GPS telemetry tracking and local community knowledge to provide a high-resolution spatial roadmap identifying functional habitats outside formal protected areas. However, limitations include the small sample size of GPS-tagged birds and the challenges of rapidly changing land use in the region.

Protecting these areas benefits not only the bustard but also co-existing wildlife and human communities, promoting sustainable farming practices and preserving regional hydrological cycles.