‘Great Indian Bustard chick in Jaisalmer not first this season’

The officials of Jaisalmer’s Desert National Park (DNP) have clarified that the chick of Great Indian Bustard (GIB) sighted by some researchers last week was not the first of this breeding season.

HT carried a report on November 13 titled ‘This season’s first GIB chick sighted in Jaisalmer’, quoting sources, whom the DNP officials have called unauthorised.

DNP deputy conservator of forests (DCF) Ashok Kumar Mahariya said two chicks have been sighted in the Sudasari enclosure before the reporting by the researchers and it was unclear if the chick was a new birth or one of the those two.

“We are trying to verify this; our staff has not sighted any chick after the researchers shared the information with us,” Mahariya added.

“A GIB birth is a sensitive issue for us working for conservation of this endangered species. We want to keep the news under wraps to prevent crowd of bird watchers that disturbs the extremely shy bird,” the officer said.

Mahariya said the researchers quoted in the HT report did not have permission to work in the DNP. The DCF also pointed out that the photo carried with the news item was a file photo and clicked by former deputy conservator of forest (DCF), wildlife, DNP, Anoop KR. HT regrets not crediting the picture to the forest official.

JAIPUR: