Protection for the greatIndian bustard

Asad Rahmani

In 1981, as a result of Dr Salim Ali's assessment of the deteriorating status of the great Indianbustard, the Bombay Natural History Society embarked on a five-year project to study theecology and distribution of the bird. The author, who has worked on the great Indian bustard inthree places in India and who took part in the BNHS bustard project, describes its findings.

174

A male great Indian bustard (Asad Rahmani/Bombay Natural History Society).

The great Indian bustard Ardeotis nigriceps wasformerly widely distributed in grassland, savannaand open scrub over most of the country. Overthe last 100 years, indiscriminate shooting anddestruction of its habitat by expansion of agri-culture and overgrazing by livestock have madeit one of India's rarest birds and it is nowendangered.

The bustard has been legally protected since1952, but its numbers continued to fall becauseimplementation of the law was difficult. In 1969Salim Ali estimated that around 1000 bustardssurvived in the whole country and, during theXlth Technical Meeting of the IUCN in 1969 inNew Delhi, he recommended strict conservationmeasures (Ali, 1970). However, the Governmenttook no concrete steps and the population con-tinued to decline. In December 1978, the bustardwas thrown into the limelight when Arabfalconers entered India and gave rise to fears thatthese birds might become their victims. For 15days, until the falconers were forced to leave thecountry, the bustard was on the front pages of allleading Indian newspapers.

Spurred on by this active support, the newlyformed Tourism and Wildlife Society of Indianorganized an International Seminar on Bustardsin 1980 at Jaipur, India, where delegate afterdelegate pleaded the cause of the great Indianbustard. All available information about the GIB(an acronym made popular during the Seminar)was published in a book Bustards in Decline,

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edited by Paul D. Goriup and Harsh Vardhan(1983). The Seminar demonstrated that infor-mation on the present distribution of the GIB waseither lacking or inadequate, and that its ecologyand behaviour were not fully known, a hindrancein taking effective conservation measures. As thepremier research and conservation body in India,the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS)assumed the responsibility of studying this rareand elusive bird. In 1981 it started a five-yearproject under the guidance of Dr Salim Ali tostudy its ecology and distribution, and to suggestmeasures for its conservation and rehabilitation.

SurveysThe BNHS field surveys revealed that the speciessurvives in six Indian states (Figure 1), with

Rajasthan holding more than half of the popu-lation. One of the most encouraging findings wasthat the status of the bird is not as desperate ashad been believed. For example, the 1980estimate was 15 bustards for Andhra Pradeshalthough 'no survey had been done' (Goriup andVardhan, 1983). During one of our surveys in1984 we saw 35 birds in one locality in that State.In subsequent surveys we found bustards in twomore places, and four further areas were identi-fied where bustards are definitely present.Therefore, the total bustard population of theState should not be less than 80-100 birds.Similarly, 50-100 birds are present in each of thestates of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.However, the bustard population of Gujarat statein western India has suffered a massive decline,and it is feared that if urgent conservation

R RajasthanMP Madhya Pradesh

G GujaratM MaharashtraK Karnataka

AP Andhra Pradesh

Rollapadu SanctuaryBanganpalli Closed Area (proposed)Bhatiya-Kalyanpur Area (proposed)Banni grasslands (proposed)Abdasa Taluka (proposed)Rannibennur Blackbuck SanctuaryGuttal plantationBagalkot plantation

9. Karera Bustard Sanctuary10 Ghatigaon Bustard Sanctuary11. Pohri Bustard Area (proposed)12. Bustard Sanctuary13. Kundapur Closed Area14 Shokhaliya Closed Area15 Desert National Park16. Bethnoke Range, Bikaner

(proposed)

Figure 1. The Indian States in which the great Indian bustard still survives.

Great Indian bustard 175

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measures are not taken now, the species willdisappear for ever from there. Three extensivesurveys were undertaken between 1982 and1985, during which only six birds could be foundin two widely separated areas, although we foundevidence of bustards in three more places.Recommendations for the establishment of threesanctuaries were given to the Government in1985; these were accepted, but a severe droughtprevented work being started. It is hoped thatthese sanctuaries will be established in the nearfuture.

Rajasthan State holds 500-1000 great Indianbustards. Being a 'State bird', it benefits fromgreat popularity and its population is increasingin most places. During a survey in 1983 we found52 birds, but in a survey of almost the same areasin 1986 we found 104. The birds are present innine districts, but we could visit only five. A largepopulation survives in the Thar desert and somegood bustard areas are approachable only oncamel back. Added to this, the bird's nomadicbehaviour makes sighting it at any particularplace unpredictable. Therefore, we probably sawonly 10-20 per cent of the population. Moredetailed surveys are planned for accurate assess-ment of the bustard population of Rajasthan.

After preliminary surveys in 1981-82, intensivework on the bustard was started by establishingtwo field stations in two different areas, Karera inMadhya Pradesh and Nanaj in Maharashtra,almost 1000 km apart.

Population trendsAlthough the species is still not secure, the trendof the population is encouraging. There are 16bustard sanctuaries/closed areas where numbersare increasing (Table 1). For example, in theKarera Bustard Sanctuary in Madhya Pradeshthe population increased from 14 adult birds to25-30 between 1982 and 1986. Similarly, in theNanaj area in Maharashtra, strict protectionresulted in 22 birds being recorded in 1983,while in 1981 only eight birds had been seen. Insome of the well-protected parts of the 3162-sq-km Desert National Park in Rajasthan 10-15bustards can be seen easily in a morning.

BiologyIn the non-breeding season, the great Indianbustard lives in small groups of five to ten birds,with males and females in their own subgroups;mixed flocks are rare (Rahmani and Manakadan,

Table 1. Existing and proposed great Indian bustard sanctuaries

State

Andhra Pradesh

Gujarat

Karnataka

Madhya Pradesh

Maharashtra

Rajasthan

1.2.

3.4.5.

6.7.8.

9.10.11.

12.

13.14.15.16.

Name

Rollapadu SanctuaryBanganpalli Closed Area (proposed)

Bhatiya-Kalyanpur Area (proposed)Banni grasslands (proposed)Abdase Taluka (proposed)

Rannibennur Blackbuck SanctuaryGuttal plantationBagalkot plantation

Karera Bustard SanctuaryGhatigaon Bustard SanctuaryPohri Bustard Area (proposed)

Bustard Sanctuary

Kundapur Closed AreaShokhaliya Closed AreaDesert National ParkBethnoke Range, Bikaner (proposed)

Approximate no.of bustards

40-5010-15

5-10Not knownNot known

10-158-103-5

30-3510-1510-12

50-60

10-1580-100

200-40010-15

Size*

400 ha

840 sq km

123 sq km490 ha

202 sq km512 sq km

7818 sq km

ca. 10 sq km17 sq km3162 sq km400 ha

*The sizes of some of the proposed bustard sanctuaries are still undetermined.

176 Oryx Vol 21 No 3, July 1987

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s . H

A female great Indian bustard (Asad Rahmani/Bombay Natural History Society).

1986). As the breeding season approaches, adultmales separate to establish territories. It ispossible that a male occupies the same territoryevery year; one colour-banded male occupiedthe same territory for three consecutive years(the studies are still going on).

The male has a fantastic courtship display. Eachmorning and evening during the breeding seasonit stands at its favourite display spot, head up andneck fully extended. In this posture it looksaround for a few minutes. Slowly, the tail iscocked and the white gular pouch is inflated. Itinhales air and produces a loud 'boom', theinflated pouch possibly adding resonance to thecall; on average the call is emitted every 14seconds. Depending on the wind direction, thecall can be heard for a kilometre or more.

Previous studies stated that the great Indianbustard was polygamous (Hume and Marshall,1879; Baker, 1921; Dharmakumarsinhji, 1957,Great Indian bustard

1962; Ali and Ripley, 1969), each male collectingfour or five hens in a harem. Our studies, how-ever, show that the number of females in the'harem' varies daily as the hens move from oneterritory to another or even leave the maleterritories. Moreover, there is no social bondbetween male and female. Based on Mock's(1983) recent classification of the avian matingsystem, the great Indian bustard is promiscuousand not polygamous.

Incubation and rearing of the chick are under-taken solely by the female. As only one egg islaid, it is not easy to discover the date of layingbecause it is unlikely that the egg is found on theday it is laid. However, on three occasions, wehave noted hens incubating for 27 days. Thechick is fed mainly with animal matter, such asinsects and small lizards. Although the chick canfeed itself and can leave the nest soon after it

A male great Indian bustard calling while in courtshipdisplay {Asad Rahman/Bombay Natural

History Society).177

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- 4 P T \r- /•••?*•'.'I1 ' ' *• • ' •«.'•("

Bustard habitat in the Banni grassland in Kutch, Gujarat (Asad Rahmani/Bombay Natural History Society).

hatches, it is fed beak-to-beak for two to threemonths. Occasional beak-to-beak feeding is seeneven when the juvenile is almost the size ofthe mother. The breeding season varies over thebird's range, but everywhere coincides withthe period when insect populations are high. Thefledgling period lasts five to six weeks, but thechick follows its mother for a year until the nextbreeding season.

The bird is omnivorous, and an opportunisticfeeder, which help it survive in a harsh environ-ment. The diet varies from grasshoppers, beetles,snakes and lizards to mustard, bengal gramZizyphus sp. and wheat. The bird wanders longdistances in search of food, but if the food supplyis regular it becomes resident.

ConservationThe greatest problem for the conservation of thespecies is the protection of its habitat, i.e. grass-lands and open scrub. The increase in the humanpopulation of India has pushed agriculture tomarginal lands and there has been a concomitantincrease in the population of livestock. For178

example, data from the National Commission onAgriculture show that between 1951 and 1971,the cattle population increased from 155 millionto 180 million and the goat population increasedfrom 47 million to 75 million. India, with justone-fortieth of the world's total land area,supports more than half of its buffaloes, 15 percent of its cattle, 15 per cent of its goats and 4 percent of its sheep (Agarwal and Narain, 1985).With such a huge population of livestock, grazingpressure on the grasslands is tremendous andmost of the 13-million hectares of classifiedgrazing land are degraded to some degree.

Since the bustard nests on the ground and laysonly one egg (rarely two) per clutch, the maindanger to the egg is from herds of hungry cows.Even if the egg is not trampled, frequent dis-turbance increases the chances of egg predationor death of the embryo from over-exposure tothe sun.

We found that the bird lives in a variety ofhabitats: sandy deserts (e.g. western Rajasthan),open scrub (e.g. Madhya Pradesh), grasslands(e.g. Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra) and

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marginal fields (eastern Rajasthan, certain partsof Madhya Pradesh). Nevertheless, wherever it isfound it prefers open areas with a minimum oftree cover, and the height of ground vegetationto be below its eye level. Observations at our fieldstation in Maharashtra revealed that the idealhabitat for the great Indian bustard is a wideundulating plain with grass cover 30-70 cm highand an occasional bush or shrub. Total protec-tion of the habitat in some of the newly estab-lished bustard sanctuaries allowed the vegetationto grow too high, so that within two or three yearsthe habitat became unsuitable for bustards.Vegetation was then therefore either cut, as inGhatigaon, or grazed, as in Karera. In the DesertNational Park in Rajasthan, enclosures of 500-1000 ha were established for bustards to breedundisturbed. For the first one or two years, whilethe vegetation was recovering, bustards wereseen there, but now, after five years of totalprotection, bustards are seldom seen inside theenclosures. We have suggested to the Govern-ment that the grass should be either cut or grazedfor a few months each year.

One of the major problems of bustard conser-vation is that the bird lives in grasslands and lightlygrazed areas and not in forests where most of theIndian wildlife sanctuaries and national parks arelocated. Bustard areas are used intensively byhuman beings and so it is impossible to establishsanctuaries of 200-500 sq km that are free ofhuman disturbance. Most of the bustard sanc-tuaries/closed areas listed in Table 1 consist ofcrop fields, villages and common grazing lands. Ina few cases the forest department responsible forprotecting the bird does not own any land in theseareas. The bird is totally protected, but not itshome. As it is neither possible nor desirable toevict people, nor to control grazing in the tradi-tional grazing areas, we have suggested to theIndian Government that 100-200 ha pastureplots should be established in the bustardsanctuaries. In most of the areas the bustardbreeds during the monsoon—the time whengrazing inside the plots should be banned to allowthe grass to grow. Once the monsoon is over, theplots should be opened to the villagers for limitedgrazing or grass cutting. In this way the localpeople will benefit from bustard conservation. InMaharashtra State many of the large pasture plots

(more than 50-ha) established within the last 10years under the Drought-Prone Areas Pro-gramme now serve as good breeding ground forthe great Indian bustard. Bustard conservationshould go hand-in-hand with the ecodevel-opment of the much-abused semi-arid and aridregions of India.

Acknowledgments

This study was made possible with funds provided by US Fishand Wildlife Service, Grant No. 8851-653-04 via theGovernment of India. I am grateful to Dr Salim Ali, Mr J. C.Daniel and Mr S. A. Hussain of the BNHS for commentsduring the writing of this report. I am also thankful to mycolleagues Mr Ranjit Manakadan and Mr Bharat Bhushanwho assisted in the field work, and to Mr Carl D'Silva for theartwork. On behalf of the BNHS, I want to express mygratitude to the forest departments of the following stategovernments for providing full facilities to us during the studyperiod: Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, AndhraPradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

References

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Mock, D. W. 1983. On the study of avian mating systems. InPerspective in Ornithology (Eds A. H. Bush and G. H.Clark), pp. 55—84. Cambridge University Press, London.

Rahmani, A.R. and Manakadan, R. 1986. Movement andflock composition of the great Indian bustard Ardeotisnigriceps (Vigors) at Nanaj, Solapur district, Maharashtra,India. J. Bombay Natural Hist. Soc. 83, 17-31.

AsadR. Rahmani, Bombay Natural History Society, HombillHouse, ShahidBhagat Singh Road, Bombay 400 023, India.

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