Jaisalmer, March 13 -- At 7am, Nikhila Purohit, 29, dons her bright blue apron and makes her way outside to meet her children. She has eight, and like most young ones, they are always hungry, so they are happy to see her (as most children are to see their mother). But Purohit's children are special, and not just in her eyes -- they account for almost 4% of the numbers of their species, perhaps more.

Purohit is the surrogate mother to eight Great Indian Bustard (GIB) chicks that are being raised at a special enclosure in Ramdevra near Jaisalmer. They are part of 45 of the critically endangered species of varying age (they hatched at various times since 2019) being raised in other similar enclosures in the centre. There are less than 150 o...