Wild ass population rises by 4.5% in Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: The population of the Wild Ass, commonly known as 'Gudhkar' has increased by 4.5% since the last census in 2004, an official statement of the forest departments said.

The result of the sixth Wild Ass (Equus hemionus Khuar) census conducted on April 5 and 6 in the state showed that the population of Wild Ass in the Gujarat has reaced 4,038, from 3850 during 2004 census, an increase of 4.5%, it said.

Besides the increase in population of the animal the census revealed that there were more number of female wild asses than male, which indicated that the conservation programme have been effective in the area, the statement said.

According to the statement the large number of foals (young wild asses) constituted the increased population of wild asses in the state.

The census was conducted in the Wild Ass sanctuary which encompasses an area of 4953.71 sq km of the Little Rann of Kutch and parts of the districts of Surendranagar, Rajkot, Patan, Banaskantha. The forest officials also included some villages on the periphery of the sanctuary for the purpose of counting.

The direct counting method was used by the census officials, which included 512 forest officials, 10 wild life volunteers and an expert from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Dr Nita Shah.