About the Indian Wild Ass (Khur)
The Indian wild ass, known locally as the khur, is the world's fastest wild equid, capable of sustaining speeds of 70 km/h over long distances across the flat salt deserts of Gujarat's Little Rann of Kutch. India's entire wild ass population — now numbering around 6,000 after a dramatic recovery from fewer than 400 in the 1960s — lives in the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary in the Little Rann of Kutch, making this the species' last stronghold on the subcontinent.
Wild asses are beautifully built animals, with a sandy-buff coat, dark dorsal stripe, and a mane that gives them a distinguished, horse-like appearance. Unlike horses, they are supremely adapted to arid environments and can go without water for longer periods than most equids, subsisting on moisture from the salt-tolerant grasses and halophyte plants of the rann. The annual monsoon flooding of the Little Rann transforms it temporarily into a vast wetland, forcing the asses to retreat to elevated 'bets' (islands) where they concentrate in spectacular groups.
- The best time to visit the Little Rann of Kutch for wild ass is November–March. Jeep safaris from Dasada or Zainabad give access to the salt plains.
- During the monsoon (July–September), wild asses retreat to elevated islands (bets) within the flooded rann, creating remarkable wildlife spectacles.
- The Wild Ass Sanctuary is also excellent for wolves, desert foxes, flamingos, and the endangered Lesser Florican.