Therefore, the Kutch grasslands, where the sanctuary is located, provide an ideal habitat.

The Bombay Natural History Society, which has conducted extensive studies on the three Indian bustard species - namely the great Indian, the lesser florican and the Bengal florican - has estimated that the total population of the great Indian bustard in all 12 sanctuaries in the country is only about 1,000. The biggest of these sanctuaries is theDesert National Park in Rajasthan which has about 100 birds.

The Kutch sanctuary is one of the two GIB sanctuaries in Gujarat - the other is in Jamnagar - which were notified in July 1992. The census was conducted on September 25 and 26 under the supervision of Deputy Conservator of Forests G V Vadi and the figures haven't been officially released. But the enthusiasm among Forest and Wildlife officers says it all.

"Clearly, the bird is doing well here, and the sanctuary needs to be enlarged," said an officer. Spread over only 202 hectares, the Kutch GIB sanctuary is the smallest in the country. For a big bird like the bustard, it is simply inadequate. In fact, birds have often been seen outside the sanctuary area, the officer said.

Vadi says his department has already approached the National Committee on Rationalisation of Boundaries of the Protected Areas for extending the sanctuary up to its natural or ecological border. The sanctuary is just one of the several grassland patches in a single ecologicalzone having an area of 500 sq kms. In the monsoon, large herds of cattle graze there. Vadi has, therefore, proposed a ban on grazing during the breeding season of GIB "in the core zones".

District Wildlife Wardon Raysinhji Rathod and his predecessor Navin Bapat, both of whom participated in the census, explain that a hen generally lays one egg, and rarely two, on the bare ground. If cattle were allowed inside, the eggs would be trampled upon, or would be damaged in the harsh sunlight when the birds move off on spotting herdsmen.

Even the Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (GEER) Foundation, the Dahradun-based Wildlife Institute of India and other wildlife organisations have called for enlargement of the sanctuary. GEER Director H S Singh, after a visit on July 27 last year, sent a note to the Forest Department, saying the area is "too small" and the adjoining grasslands should also be protected for the GIB habitat.

Scientist at Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India Y V Jhala, who alsovisited the sanctuary in July, wrote to the State's Chief Wildlife Warden S A Patel, saying the sanctuary "probably harbours the single largest population of GIB in Gujarat" and the presence of chicks showed that the bird actually bred in the area.

Like Singh, Jhala also argued for including more of the adjacent grassland eco-systems in the protected area. Since most of the area was under the State Government ownership, there would be minimal conflicts with development and agricultural interests in transferring the land to the Forest Department, he said.