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
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
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
nine mammalianorders, representing over 30 species and subspecies;
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
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]
