Wild Ass Sanctuary encompasses an area of 4953.71 sq. km. of the Little Rann of Kachchh and the districts of Surendranagar, Rajkot, Patan, Banaskantha and Kachchh. Easily spotted in big groups in the vast span of desert throughout the year, this population of wild ass is the only gene pool of Indian Wild Ass in the entire world and one of the six geographical varieties or sub-species surviving on the earth.
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.
Location
The headquarters of the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary is "Dhrangadhra" in Surndranagar district
Sanctuary area
4953.71 sq. Km.
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
