Wild Ass Sanctuary

Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary also known as the Wild Ass Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Little Rann of Kutch in the Gujarat state of India. Spread over 4954 km², it is the largest wildlife sanctuary in India. The wildlife sanctuary was established in 1972 and came under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. The sanctuary is one of the last places on earth where the endangered wild ass sub-species Indian Wild Ass (Khur) (Equus hemionus khur) belonging to Asiatic Wild Ass species Onager (Equus hemionus) can be spotted.

Owing to the uniqueness of the area and the existence of the rare and endangered species such as dalmatian pelican, lesser flamingo, sarus crane, caracal, desert fox, black cobra etc., the area is being considered to be declared as one of the world heritage sites. Internationally the area is recognized for its natural and geomorphological value and has high biodiversity conservation significance. With the arrival of monsoon the landscape changes dramatically, when entire sanctuary area is filled with shallow fresh water. This stagnant water offers a vast feeding ground to the famous Kachchh prawns and several other birds, fish and invertebrates.

This sanctuary attracts many internationally threatened birds like houbara bustard, dalmatian pelicans, hawks, harriers and falcons. Many of these birds migrate to this area, which falls on the migratory route of birds coming to Indian subcontinent Large portion of Little Rann of Kachchh has been covered by Prosopis chilensis. The other plants and trees are: Morad, unt morad, theg, dolari, khijdo, kerdo, mithi jar, kheri pilu, akado etc.