Top officials running Project Great Indian Bustard (GIB ) for conservation of the bird have said that the process of releasing captive-bred ones in Rajasthan’s Desert National Park will continue as scheduled in the coming weeks, dismissing reports that the authorities would destroy desert fox dens in the area before it.

In a milestone for the conservation of the critically endangered GIB, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav released two six-month-old male GIBs into the wild at Sam in Jaisalmer on October 4. Another two birds were released subsequently. On October 17, one of the four was found dead near a desert fox den.

Officials said losses to predation are factored into any rewilding process, and there was no question of mass removal of the desert fox species to secure the GIB.

Rajasthan Chief Wildlife Warden Arun Prasad told The Indian Express: “There is no such decision.…