No love, no chicks, only extinction? Gujarat tries scented decoys to woo loveless lesser floricans

This monsoon, wildlife officials in Gujarat are trying everything they can to save the critically endangered lesser florican, the world’s smallest bustard bird. With fewer than 900 birds left in India, according to the State of India's Birds 2023 report, the risk of extinction is growing fast. After a complete breeding failure last year, conservationists at the Conservation Breeding Centre (CBC) in Velavadar National Park, near Ahmedabad, are now turning to a surprising method, using fake female birds.

According to a TOI report, experts are placing cotton-stuffed cloth effigies painted to look like real female floricans. These decoys are even treated with female scent collected from the wild to make them more convincing. The goal? To collect semen from male birds for artificial insemination, a technique inspired by houbara bustard breeding projects in the UAE.

Courtship crisis: What went wrong?

Last year, despite the male floricans performing elaborate mating dances, the females attacked them instead of responding positively. “The males did everything right last season,” said Dr Yash Baraiya, the centre’s veterinary doctor. “But the females were not receptive, they were aggressive and stopped any chance of mating.”

This strange behaviour left the team puzzled and desperate. Now, the hope is that these female-like decoys can encourage the males to release semen, which can then be used to fertilise unfertilised eggs laid by the captive females.

Breeding successes and setbacks

Since the CBC was set up in 2020, the team has rescued eggs at risk due to rain, farming work, or predators. They’ve managed to hatch 16 chicks, of which 12 have grown into adults, 6 males and 6 females. But unless they start reproducing, all this effort might go in vain.

“Collecting semen is tricky,” Dr Baraiya told TOI. “The male birds are very shy. Even small disturbances can stop them from mating behaviour. But if we get it right, we can carry out artificial insemination during the females’ fertile phase.”

Learning from Rajasthan’s Great Indian Bustard Project

Officials are also looking to Rajasthan for help. The Great Indian Bustard Breeding Centre in Sudasri, Jaisalmer, has seen successful artificial insemination. Now, Gujarat’s forest department has asked for permission to send its vet team there for training.

“We want to adapt their methods for the lesser florican,” said Nilesh Joshi, assistant conservator of forests at Velavadar National Park.

Blending nature with science

While artificial insemination is one option, the team is also trying to create a natural environment to encourage natural mating. Marvel grass, preferred by floricans for nesting, has been planted, and artificial shelters have been set up. The birds are monitored round the clock with 360-degree cameras to spot illness or injury.

Inputs from TOI