Scientists have taken a step forward in their efforts to save the endangered goat bird in India.
Forest officials in Rajasthan have made the baby goat give birth for the first time through artificial insemination.
The bird, located at a bald goat breeding centre in Jaisalmer city, was trained to produce semen without interacting with the female.
The semen thus produced was artificially injected into a female bird at another similar centre 200 kilometres away and made to conceive.
Forest officials said it was a very crucial process. This will provide an opportunity to set up a sperm bank, he said.
The number of goat birds has been declining drastically over the years due to lack of suitable habitats, exposure to poaching and electric wires. The number of birds in India, which was more than 1,000 in the 1960s, has now gone up to 150.
Most of the existing ones are in Jaisalmer. These birds are also found in small numbers in the Rollapadu forest area of Rayalaseema.
Environmentalists say the habitats of these birds in Jaisalmer city should be protected.
But, the region remains a major destination for renewable energy companies. As a result, the authorities are facing challenges in protecting the goat birds in the area.
“India’s national bird is not as popular as the peacock. But it’s also a special bird,” said Sumit Jumpia, an environmentalist who has been studying these birds for 10 years.
The weight of this huge bird is between 15 kg and 18 kg. It is one of the largest flying birds in India.
These birds were once very visible in the country. They had a presence in about 11 states. Now they are found only in Rajasthan. Some in Karnataka and some in Gujarat can be identified.
The bird plays a key role in protecting crop fields from rodents, snakes and other organisms.
The rajasthan state bird is also a goat. The people of the state call this bird ‘Godavan’.
The goat bird can look away but usually does not look ahead. When flying in the air, they cannot be detected until they are close to the electrical wires. They also find it difficult to change the direction in which they are flying to escape after detection. Due to the huge size, it is not possible and they are hitting the wires and losing their lives.
“These birds may have been so focused on this because they spent most of their time on the ground,” jumpia said.
These birds lay their eggs on the ground. They don’t make a separate nest to lay eggs. He also said that they would not have been able to find them after laying eggs.
The way the goat birds give birth to young is very special.
This bird lays only one egg at a time. After that, she spends two years for her children.
It lays only four to five eggs in its life.
For the past few years, solar and wind energy farms have been occupying the habitat of goat birds in Jaisalmer. As a result, these birds are increasingly exposed to accidents.
“With the increase in the presence of human beings in the areas where these birds live, they are facing problems. Sometimes stray dogs eat their eggs,” he said.
The Rajasthan government has worked with the Central government and the Wildlife Institute of India to set up a conservation breeding centre in Sam City in 2018 to increase the number of these birds.
Jaisalmer forest officer Ashish Vyas said another fertility centre was set up in Ram Deora village in 2022.
Initially, the researchers collected the eggs of these birds in the wild. They are placed in incubation centres and incubated.
“There are currently 45 bird cubs in these two centres. Of these, 14 were born in special care centres. Of these, one was born through artificial insemination,” Vyas said.
They want to increase the number of these birds further. The chicks of these birds will be slowly released into the forests.
Babies born in these fertility centres have a good rapport with caregivers. As a result, they lose 60 per cent to 70 per cent of their ability to survive in the wild, he said.
“The bird needs to be protected and fed and protected by its young. Human beings are getting used to it and they are losing their natural instincts. Preparing them for forest life again is a very challenging thing to do. It’s a very complex process, especially when there are no separate habitats to leave them,” he said.
Losing their habitat is also another type of problem for these birds. The researchers found that these birds, which used to migrate to different states earlier, have now completely stopped doing so.
These birds are also found in two places in Jaisalmer. Here too, migration from one place to another is very rare,” he said.
The movement of these birds to far-flung areas has been reduced due to accidents while flying. This increases the risk of inbreeding (a combination between them in close proximity in different species). As a result, children are born with defects.
“The only solution to protect the goats is to protect their natural habitats,” says Jumpia.
The Supreme Court verdict in April has left environmentalists deeply impatient.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside the interim orders of Rajasthan and Gujarat to install underground electricity lines in areas inhabited by goat birds.
The apex court observed that the order would cost renewable energy companies crores of rupees and would indirectly hurt their businesses.
The court said it was setting up a committee to examine the feasibility of moving the power lines.
Corporatehouses have welcomed the Supreme Court verdict. Environmentalists and a few other legal experts have said that it is problematic to set aside one good program for another.
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