Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
toured off-road, through spiny acacia bushes, until we could break into the open, desert
area. Saw a turtle. A big monitor lizard stuck his head out of a hole filled with water. Bee
Eaters, an Indian Roller but no wild asses.
The small islands, bets, on this ancient seabed are now covered with grass and scrub
that support a variety of wildlife including the Asiatic Wild Ass not found elsewhere. That
being said, ex-Marine and I
did
see wild asses in China's far west, but not in the abundance
found here. The wild ass is a chestnut-brown member of the horse family, usually seen in
small herds.
ex-Marine shouted,
"Wild Ass,"
and indeed it was. A lone wild ass, stood in the grass,
staring us down. No one had to tell us that this wild ass was male with its 5th leg swaying in
the breeze. Driver/naturalist said, usually females are within this area for a male to become
aroused. Ah yes, a typical male waiting for a nice piece of wild ass. Sorry, it's impossible
to resist the puns.
It took at least 30 more minutes until we broke through the scrub into the open Desert
of Kutch where herds of wild asses scattered in front of us. More aroused, male wild asses.
One or two resting on the ground. Small herds together. All keeping a sharp eye on us. The
naturalist told us to, “Get out of the jeep, walk slowly and quietly, closer to them.” These
beautiful horse-like asses with brown markings spook easily. It didn't take much to send
them into a gallop even though we crunched over the crusty desert floor as quietly as pos-
sible. The wild ass can reach high speeds galloping across the Rann.
Other mammals can also be seen in Little Rann of Kutch, the most common of which
are: blackbuck (Indian antelope), gazelles, foxes, jackals, and blue bulls (India's largest
antelope). We did see a few blue bulls driving back out of the desert, but you really have to
be lucky to spot the others.
Three Jeep Breakdowns in One Day
A zillion photos of wild asses later, we began making our way back out of the desolate,
desert. This vast plain stretched into the horizon as far as the eye could see. Because of
the recent rains, locals were harvesting crusty salt off the pools of water. Our driver zig-
zagged between thorny bushes, scrub, and desert, trying to find a navigable way back to
Rann Riders. A brief stop to pick up a Rabari hitchhiker before continuing on.
Driving past fields of castor beans with brightly colored material around their perimet-
ers to keep wildlife out of crops in the dry season, the driver turned down a muddy road
leading between fields.
Notagoodidea!
Driving down this tractor-rutted road, the jeep got
hung-up on one huge, mud rut. Tires spun. The Rabari, Niru and driver pushed, rocked the
car, put material under the tire to no avail. This jeep wasn't going
anywhere
. A tractor sat
in the adjacent field and Rabari, along with driver, set off down the road to find the tractor
owner and ask him to pull us out. We stood. Waited. Watched motorcyclists navigate the
muddy ruts by walking their motorcycles through. Driver and Rabari eventually returned
with the tractor's owner who went into his field, unloaded hay bales stacked on the tractor
