Operation Sindoor: How India Rescued Its Rarest Birds from the Line of Fire

Pashu Sandesh, 23nd July 2025

In a rare convergence of national security and wildlife conservation, nine critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB) in hindi called son chidiya chicks were whisked away from Jaisalmer to Ajmer on the night of 10 May 2025. The relocation was a direct response to increased drone activity, artillery shelling, and security threats following Operation Sindoor, India’s military offensive conducted in early May 2025. By June 18, the chicks had been safely brought back to their original breeding centres after the region was deemed secure. As the bustard chicks now chirp and feed under watchful veterinary eyes, their survival represents not just a victory for conservation, but for compassion in the midst of crisis.

A Flight for Survival

As the sun dipped behind the dunes of Jaisalmer this May, and the winds carried not just sand but whispers of tension from across the border, a rare mission unfolded in the desert. But this wasn’t a military maneuver or a diplomatic visit, it was a rescue. One not of men or machines, but of life delicate and dwindling, nine chicks of the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB). Their relocation, hastily but carefully executed, came amidst the shadow of Operation Sindoor.

On the night of 10 May, amidst intense India–Pakistan border activity, a combined team from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the Rajasthan Forest Department relocated nine GIB chicks aged between 5 and 28 days from the Ramdevra and Sudasari breeding centres in Jaisalmer to a safer facility in Arwar village, near Ajmer, a distance of over 200 km covered in approximately 10 hours. The journey utilized specially designed soft-suspension vehicles, cushioned compartments, and sand bedding to minimise stress and ensure safe transit.

This operation was more than logistics; it was a race against anxiety. “These birds are on the edge of extinction. Every single chick represents hope,” said Brijmohan Gupta, Divisional Forest Officer of the Desert National Park, who oversaw the move.

The Great Indian Bustard,  once seen in flocks across the subcontinent, now numbers fewer than 150 in the wild. Collisions with high-tension power lines, shrinking habitats, and human disturbances have pushed this iconic bird to the brink. To counter this crisis, Project GIB was launched in 2018 as a joint initiative of the Ministry of Environment, the Wildlife Institute of India, and the Rajasthan Forest Department.

The breeding centres at Sudasari and Sam are equipped with AI-enabled surveillance, temperature-controlled incubators, and sensor-based monitoring systems. This advanced infrastructure ensures real-time tracking of egg conditions and chick health. Till date, the centres have successfully hatched and nurtured 65 chicks. The newly born chicks are being gradually trained in semi-natural enclosures to help them adapt to wild conditions.

Still, amidst the thunder of tanks and tremors of diplomacy, this story offered something rare - Hope. It showed that in a nation stretched by security concerns, there is still space, speed, and sensitivity for a species many had forgotten. That a military operation could give rise, unintentionally but effectively, to an act of urgent conservation, is perhaps the most remarkable detail of all.