RAS question
What was the approximate population of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) in Jaisalmer as confirmed in December 2025?
Correct answer: (C) 198.
The approximate Great Indian Bustard population in Jaisalmer confirmed for the 2025 count was 198, including birds in Desert National Park, the Pokaran Field Firing Range and the Ramdevra and Sam breeding centres.
Explanation
The relevant figure is 198 because the census total combines the wild population in Desert National Park, the Pokaran Field Firing Range and other Jaisalmer habitats with the birds kept in the Ramdevra and Sam breeding centres. The Times of India reports 130 plus or minus 21 Great Indian Bustards in the wild, DNP and Pokaran area, and 68 birds in the two breeding centres, bringing the total Jaisalmer figure to 198 plus or minus 21. The December 2025 confirmation therefore points to 198. The conservation context also matters: the bird is treated as critically endangered, with Supreme Court-approved protection through a 14,013 sq km priority conservation area and undergrounding of 80 km of 33kV power lines in its habitat.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 150 is below the combined Jaisalmer figure because it does not account for the reported total of 130 plus or minus 21 in the wild/DNP/Pokaran area plus 68 birds in the breeding centres.
- (B) 89 is not supported by the census figures; the reported wild/DNP/Pokaran estimate alone was 130 plus or minus 21, before adding breeding-centre birds.
- (D) 320 overstates the Jaisalmer count, since the total after adding the wild/DNP/Pokaran estimate and breeding-centre birds was 198 plus or minus 21, not 320.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan environment and biodiversity conservation, especially species counts, protected habitats and mitigation measures for the Great Indian Bustard. It recurs in RAS because state-specific endangered species, Desert National Park and conservation-linked court directions are frequent current-affairs hooks.