Grey Hornbills at home in Gir after 60 yrs

Gandhinagar: After successfully achieving a milestone in the conservation of the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard, with the second chick hatched through the "jump-start" technique surviving beyond the critical 40-day period, the Gujarat Forest Department has now recorded another conservation success with the recovery of the Indian Grey Hornbill population in the Gir forests through a pioneering species reintroduction programme.The Indian Grey Hornbill - Gujarat's only hornbill species - was common in the Gir landscape until the mid-1930s, particularly during winter.

However, its population began declining in the 1950s and 1960s, with the last documented sighting in Gir recorded in 1950.

While the species continues to inhabit the forests of southern and central Gujarat, it had long been considered locally extinct in Gir, though the exact reasons for its disappearance remain unknown.

Reintroduced into the Gir landscape in 2021, the hornbills have successfully established territories, adapted to their new habitat and produced offspring.A research paper - Reintroduction of Indian Grey Hornbills in Gir, India: Insights into Ranging, Habitat Use, Nesting and Behavioural Patterns - published in peer-reviewed journal Birds, noted: "Twenty-eight birds were reintroduced in the first phase between 2021 and 2022, and 12 in the second phase during 2023.

Five male birds were deployed with Platform Transmitter Terminal/Global System for Mobile Communications (PTT/GSM) transmitters during the first phase, and six more males were deployed with PTT transmitters during the second phase."Mohan Ram, one of the authors of the study and Conservator of Forests, Junagadh Circle, said the project involved the release of 40 Indian Grey Hornbills in two phases.

"The successful breeding, shrinking home ranges and stable habitat use indicate that the reintroduction programme is progressing towards establishing a self-sustaining population," said Jaipal Singh, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, Gujarat. ...