Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary

Coordinates: 23°09′10″N 71°23′44″E / 23.152739°N 71.395678°E / 23.152739; 71.395678
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23°09′10″N 71°23′44″E / 23.152739°N 71.395678°E / 23.152739; 71.395678

Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary
Wild Ass Nature Education Camp
Khur grazing at the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, Little Rann of Kutch.
LocationKutchh, Gujarat, India
Nearest cityAhmedabad
Area4954 km2
Established1972
World Heritage siteUNESCO Tentative List
WebsiteGujaratTourism
Map of Gujarat showing the Little Rann of Kutch and Greater Rann of Kutch

The Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, or Wild Ass Wildlife Sanctuary, is located in the Little Rann of Kutch in the state of Gujarat, India, spread over an area of 4954 km².[1]

The Wild Ass Wildlife Sanctuary was established under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 as one of the last bastions for the endangered Indian wild ass (Equus hemionus khur)—called khur or godhkhur in the Gujarati language—, a southern subspecies of E. hemionus, the Asiatic wild ass (or onager).

Geography[edit]

The Rann of Kutch is a sealine desert. During monsoon, the Rann (Gujarati for desert) gets flooded for a period of about one month and is dotted with about 74 elevated plateaus or islands, locally called 'bets'. These bets are covered with grass and feed the population of around 2100 animals.[2]

Species found[edit]

The sanctuary is also a habitat for many other endemic species of animals and migratory birds. According to data submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre,[3] the sanctuary's rich biodiversity includes

  • at least 70,000 individual bird nests and pairs;
Pied bush chat at LRK

Threats[edit]

The main threat faced by the sanctuary is the illegal salt panning[4] activity in the area. 25% of India's salt supply comes from panning activity in the area.[5]

Biosphere Reserve — World Heritage Site[edit]

The reserve was nominated by the Forest Department to be a biosphere reserve, which are areas of terrestrial and coastal ecosystems internationally recognised within the framework of UNESCO's Man and Biosphere (MAB) programme. The aim of the programme is to focus on conserving biological diversity, and the research, monitoring and providing of sustainable development models. The proposal was sent to and listed at UNESCO.[6][7][8]

Wildlife Sanctuaries and Reserves of Kutch[edit]

From the city of Bhuj various ecologically rich and wildlife conservation areas of the Kutch / Kachchh district can be visited such as Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary, Kutch Bustard Sanctuary, Banni Grasslands Reserve and Chari-Dhand Wetland Conservation Reserve etc..

Gallery[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Wildlife Sanctuaries". wiienvis.nic.in. Archived from the original on 2017-02-23. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  2. ^ "Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 27 February 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-01-22. Retrieved 2006-09-13.
  3. ^ "Wild Ass Sanctuary, Little Rann of Kutch". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2006-09-13.
  4. ^ The salt-panners of the little Rann; kuensel online; Nov 16, 2009; asiaone news; Singapore Press Holdings
  5. ^ "Rann of Kutchh Wild Ass Sanctuary, Kutchh". Archived from the original on 2006-10-17. Retrieved 2006-09-13.
  6. ^ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Wild Ass Sanctuary, Little Rann of Kutch". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2019-12-26.
  7. ^ Kaushik, Himanshu (July 22, 2008). "Kutch gets biosphere reserve status". Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via The Economic Times.
  8. ^ Kutch’s wild ass habitat may soon get heritage label Archived 2023-03-05 at the Wayback Machine (2 Page article online); by DP Bhattacharya; Jul 26, 2007; Indian Express Newspaper

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]