On Sunday morning, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) scientists released two male Great Indian Bustards into Rajasthan's Desert National Park at Sam, Jaisalmer. The release marks the first step in rewilding captive-bred GIBs raised at conservation breeding centres at Ramdevra and Sam under Project GIB. Rajasthan Forest Minister Sanjay Sharma was present at the occasion. Yadav called it a milestone made possible by nearly a decade of dedication by scientists, researchers and ground staff to help the bustard reclaim the deserts of Rajasthan.

Both released bustards have been fitted with GPS tags so scientists can monitor their movements around the clock, tracking how they fly, search for food and behave in natural conditions, Bhaskar English reports. Researchers will also work to keep the birds away from high-tension power lines and poachers. The birds were released within a Restricted-to-Humans (RTH) enclosure, and WII officials said the outcome of this observation period will determine whether more of the nine remaining earmarked birds are released.

The Great Indian Bustard once ranged from Punjab to Tamil Nadu, but fewer than 150 remain, confined largely to Jaisalmer and Kutch. Hindustan Times reports the decline was driven by grassland loss and by high-voltage transmission lines and windmills, which the birds' poor frontal vision makes lethal. Habitat restoration is part of the plan, with around 200 square kilometres of fenced grassland enclosures inside Desert National Park identified by long-term WII telemetry as prime breeding habitat.

The environment ministry says the release provides important scientific learnings for progressively refining reintroduction protocols. If the two males survive and reproduce in the wild, officials see Kutch in Gujarat as a possible next destination, where a chick hatched in March 2026 after a fertile egg was moved 770 km from Rajasthan under the 'jumpstart' approach, per Hindustan Times. Gujarat has begun restoring Naliya habitat and set a target of releasing 30 birds, and officials say future introductions could reach Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh — all depending on how these first two bustards fare.