Jaisalmer: Rajasthan is set to begin transitioning Great Indian Bustard (GIB) chicks bred in captivity to their natural living conditions via India’s first rewilding tunnel at Ramdevra in Jaisalmer.Chicks at GIB breeding and hatchery centres in Sudasari and Ramdevra are to be moved soon into the tunnel-like rewilding enclosure, where they would be trained to fly in relatively open air and adapt to their natural habitat. In the first phase, 15 female and 5 male chicks are likely to be housed in the enclosure in preparation for life in the wild.After spending roughly three to four months in the tunnel, the young birds are expected to be finally released. The rewilding enclosure, built within a natural grassland setting, has been constructed at a cost of about Rs 9 crore. It resembles an elongated tunnel measuring around 160 metres in length, 64 metres in width and 14 metres in height.Desert National Park DFO B M Gupta confirmed that chicks raised at the Sudasari and Ramdevra centres would, once mature, be able to move into natural grasslands and fly freely at the rewilding tunnel enclosure. He said young GIB chicks from Sudasari had already been shifted to the Ramdevra centre for rewilding.The training in the rewilding tunnel is intended to strengthen flight muscles, encourage natural foraging and feeding behaviour and help the birds adjust to grassland habitats with minimal human contact.Wildlife Institute of India (WII) scientist and Project GIB investigator Suthirtho Dutta said only individuals meant for release would be kept in the rewilding tunnel. He said the birds would be trained by a joint group of specialists from the Houbara Foundation, WII Dehradun, and the Rajasthan forest department. The birds would be conditioned to avoid humans and dogs, locate food independently and survive without spoon-feeding or other human support.
