happens to be one of the best GIB grassland habitats. As our
group paced behind him, he would declare: “You are walking on
sevan grasses. On your side is the bui, it’s soft like rui (cotton).
Up ahead, the big bush is the ker and next to it is Euphorbia.”
I fumbled with the local plant names, but discovered to my
delight that Hamir was well-versed with the scientifi c names of
the grasses, shrubs and trees that surrounded us.
Later, we were briefed on survey ‘distance and occupancy’
sampling methodologies, and trained in handling fi eld
equipment. We went through intensive training exercises
over the next couple of days, picking up information on the
signifi cance and use of equipment that we soon learned to
handle on our own for the entirety of the survey.
The vague notion I held of deserts being bleak, austere
landscapes with minimal human presence was soon shattered
by the sheer extent of infrastructure that has reached the
remotest rural grasslands and arid zones of Rajasthan. What
were once vast golden expanses of arid desert grassland and
scrubland were lined by transmission lines, settlements, fences
and dotted by wind turbines on a scale that had to be seen to
be believed.
Yet, some pockets of fragmented shrublands occasionally
came into view, revealing the character of the diverse,of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB), a project conducted jointly
by the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, and the Rajasthan
Forest Department. The survey (based on occupancy and
distance sampling) involved simultaneously surveying around
20,000 sq. km. of the Thar landscape to collect data on
the GIB and its associated fauna. Selected volunteers were
chosen to assist the forest staff. Now in its fourth year, the
project also explores citizen science by engaging volunteers
from across the country, training them in scientifi c data
collection methods and facilitating interaction between local
conservationists and forest staff.
Mukesh Meena, the forest guard with me in the four-
wheel drive had seen the GIB several times, and one might
have expected a mechanical reaction from him to this sighting.
Yet, keenly watching the bustards striding in the distance as I
noted down GPS readings, he didn’t seem to take the moment
lightly. Perhaps it is just as well, for this is an incredibly rare
bird; once widespread among the arid rural landscapes of India,
the GIB has now been wiped out from 90 per cent of its
previous range. With its global population hovering around 150
individuals, this ground-dwelling grassland avian has sadly been
marked as Critically Endangered by the International Union
for Conservation of Nature. The Thar landscapes of Rajasthan,
which support roughly 75 per cent of the remaining population,
are without doubt the last hope of survival for these birds.
LEARNING ON THE JOB
The Thar that I saw over the course of the survey is lined
by wind turbines, power transmission lines, and paved
to the remotest corners with metalled roads and sundry
urban infrastructure. Having been briefed on the ecology
and habitat of the GIB before the project, it wasn’t hard to
understand why the bird is dangerously close to extinction.
We were surveying a bird that needs large swathes of
undisturbed grasslands and yet much of the area we
surveyed, which once supported decent populations of GIBs,
had been converted to agricultural fi elds or was now barren
wasteland. Everywhere we looked, the birds had to run a
gauntlet of metalled roads, wind turbines, power transmission
lines and human settlements, which intruded into the once-
undisturbed scrublands and grasslands that has sustained
GIBs and a host of other arid zone species for eons.
But that is another story.
Before being allotted our fi eld-sites and equipment and
heading to separate districts, we were trained by way of
fi eld exercises and workshops to familiarise us with the fl ora
and fauna of the landscape. This gave us a chance to learn
from the frontline forest staff of the Thar, post which we
clambered aboard the vehicles and moved towards the range
of Damodara.
I was paired with Hamir Singh, a sprightly and
knowledgeable forest guard from the Ramdeora Range, which
More at http://www.sanctuaryasia.com | Species Focus
ABOVE Often wrongly considered barren habitats, the desert ecosystem of
the Thar harbours a stunning array of wildlife, including this chinkara for whom
the harsh ecosystem has become a refuge off ering sustenance.
FACING PAGEThe critically-endangered Great Indian Bustard patrols its
grassland lair in the Thar. The author was part of a key survey to gather
data on the ecology of this vital habitat.SHAILESH GUPTAGIBs are heavy birds that fl y closer to the ground and possess relatively narrow fi elds of vision. This makes them
very susceptible to collision with power lines, an all-too-frequent tragedy.