Little Rann of Kutch

“A rose in a desert can only survive on its strength, not its beauty.” - Matshona Dhliwayo

An extraordinary field trip to the Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) on 7th of February '20, to learn about its biodiversity, ecosystem, wildlife and conservation strategies. An area of 4954 sq. km in the salty and barren landscape located in Rann, is the home of Asiatic Wild Ass or Ghudkhur, having its only gene pool. The Wild Ass Sanctuary is 160 km from Gandhinagar, Gujarat, surrounded by five district Kutch, Banas kantha, Patan, Rajkot and Surendranagar. This biogeographical region is a part of Desert, but is unlike the neighbouring sandy desert in Rajasthan or elsewhere in the world. After journaling and sample collection, we visited the Wild Ass Orientation Centre. LRK was established as a sanctuary on 12th of January 1973, under the Wildlife (Protection) Act. LRK is the 15th Biosphere Reserve.

Due to its strategic location on bird migration route and its connection with the dynamic Gulf of Kutch, this sanctuary provides an important feeding, breeding and roosting habitat for more than 75000 birds. The habitat not only provides ideal breeding grounds for some of the largest flocks of greater and lesser flamingo but also attracts more than 178 species of birds, from which we were lucky enough to spot Sand grouses, Desert Wheatears, Ten Species of Lark, the White Browed Bulbul, Indian Coursers, Stone plovers, Shrikes, Ducks, Geese, Ibis, Spoonbills, Godwits, Stints, Sandpipers, Shanks, Moorhens, Saras Cranes, both Indian Flamingos, and Pelicans.

The unique environment of Rann supports 33 species and subspecies of which 5 are ungulates and 14 are carnivores. The elegant Blackbuck (Indian antelope), Nilgai or Blue Bull (India's largest antelope) and the graceful Chinkara (Indian gazelle) are other mammals seen at the bets. The main carnivores of the Little Rann of Kutch are the endangered Indian wolf, desert fox, Indian fox, jackals, desert and jungle cats, and a few hyenas. The smaller animals like hyenas and civet might not be easy to find as many of them prefer the belts inside the Rann as their abode.

The wild ass is a handsome chestnut brown member of the Equus genus (horse family). Capable of reaching high speeds when galloping across the Rann, the wild ass is seen in small herds.

Evolution of the Wild Ass - After originating in the North America some 55 million years ago, the equid family colonized Europe and Asia around 1.8 million years ago. Fossils found suggest existence of life in several forms in earlier periods. Initially they were miniature broncos with 3 toes on their front feet, and 4 toes on their back feet and were feeding upon vegetation and fruit rather than grass. Slowly they evolved a new springing locomotion which made them faster.

The desert is also home to 29 reptilian species, 14 species of lizards and 12 species of snakes. Smaller mammals like hares, Gerbilles and Hedgehogs, and reptiles like spiny tailed lizard, monitor, red and common Sand Boa, Saw-Scaled Viper, Cobra, Dhaman (Indian rat snake), etc, could also be seen during the safaris in the Rann. Its true that the exotic wild species Prosopis juliflora is the most common vegetation in the Rann, a large and rich variety of indigenous and endemic species of plants manages to survive this onslaught. Right from halophytic grasses to huge trees, in all one can find 250 species of plants inside the LRK.

The habitat varies from saline desert plains, rocky

and thorn scrub, arid grasslands, plateaus to lakes and marshes. Climate being an arid area, it has recorded India’s highest evaporation rates. The Rann is mainly characterized by dry (semi-arid) tropical monsoon climate. It receives average annual rainfall of less than 300 mm, mainly during July and August.

There are around 74 elevated plateaus or islands locally called as bets in this sanctuary. It can also be called a large Ecotone, transitional land where two different ecosystems gradually meet, in this case marine and terrestrial. The whole area gets flooded during monsoons. The mixing of tidal water from the Gulf of Kutch with the freshwater discharged from the rivers in this area, makes it an important spawning ground for prawns. The topography of entire Rann area, just 4 metres above the sea level, is a flat plain of salt-encrusted mud-flats, made of river silt deposited into the sea. We also learned about the ‘Salt Factory’ and how the salt was kept in piles and how it was packaged. On the peripherals of the Rann, there are ample salt panes, where salt manufacturers, locally known as ‘Agarias’ prepare salt.

Current and imminent anthropogenic activities like salt production, farming, livestock grazing, transport and irresponsible tourism can threaten the nature by dramatically altering this habitat and the patterns of land-use in this region. Gujarat Forest Department has taken up a major challenge conserving 19 thousand sq. kms of declared forest area. The department is entrusted with the prime responsibility of protection, conservation and development of the forests and wildlife of the state.

The main mandate of the Department is to achieve the sustainable development in the State and introducing the sound environmental management practices. It practices conservation and productive forestry inside the protected forest areas and social forestry in the areas outside declared forest land. Gujarat State Forest Development Corporation is its marketing arm for minor forest produce.

While heading abode, we discussed how we always give excuses to ourselves that someone else will deal with the problem at hand. If everyone thinks the same, the world would turn out to be a different place. Each one has the power to make a difference and we should use that power in our own capacities. Shunning away from problems and making excuses will never lead one anywhere in life. However tough life may seem to one, always remember that we are stronger than that.

We need to love the wild, respect its inhabitants and conserve our environment. Our planet is a beautiful place and to exist as humans it's important to coexist with all the inhabitants of this planet.