Chris Merkord Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 There are fewer than 200 Great Indian Bustards left in the country. Courtesy of Ramki Sreenivasan / Conservation India The National (United Arab Emirates)-- NEW DELHI // Habitat destruction and illegal hunting have pushed one of India's most iconic birds to the brink of extinction with fewer than 200 left in the country. A last-ditch effort to save the Great Indian Bustard, once a candidate for the national bird of India, was launched last week in Rajasthan, with a budget of tens of millions of rupees.While they numbered about 1,500 in the mid-1980s, the population has rapidly declined. There were 600 in 2000, between 300 and 350 in 2010 and fewer than 200 today. The birds live in nine sanctuaries in six states and nearly half of the remaining population is in Rajasthan, where the Great Indian Bustard is the state bird.Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/south-asia/rajasthan-launches-last-ditch-effort-to-save-the-great-indian-bustard#ixzz2Vr26VE2f Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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