The Ass Whisperer

I am the ass whisperer. The manager of Rann Riders had tried to temper my expectations regarding actually seeing wild asses on our safari. After all, there is 4954 km² of sanctuary park, but I was having none of it. I was there to see wild asses and wild asses I would see. 

We had driven all day from Tent City in Greater Rann to the area known as Little Rann. It’s a much smaller area, but provides 70% of all the salt in India from ground water salt farming. We had come for 2 reasons: India’s native wild asses found no where else, and flamingos. Flamingos are bloody everywhere salty but I still like to see them. 

Our magic man travel agent had found us a wonderful resort and safari company in Little Rann.  They managed to landscape some of the desert to resemble floral jungle, popped in luxurious cottages and included delicious meals. More eco lodge and less cruise ship vibe.

We met our guide at 6:45am and headed out through a series of villages in a jeep. It was chilly in the open vehicle in the brisk morning air so we were each wrapped in a blanket. Almost immediately upon arriving to the desert sanctuary we saw a fox come out of his den at fairly close range. Not minutes later we came upon a pregnant wild ass mare alone. This is unusual, although our guide later suggested that mares will try to get away when they are tired of males trying to mount them. Same here.

These wild asses live only here, in this sanctuary. Competition with farmers was leading to their extinction before conservation efforts ramped up. At one point there were only 200 and now there are estimated 6000. They stay wild because they die almost immediately of cardiac arrest in captivity. They spend their morning eating and then bask in the sun until it’s time to lie down in the shade. Perhaps I am an Indian wild ass. 

We drove over to the dwindling lake to have our breakfast and admire some birds. Black-winged Stilt Leg birds were frolicking in the lake while a Drongo puffed himself up against a kestrel flying overhead. We chatted as we ate parantha and bananas with chai and were off again. 

As soon as we headed back towards the female we saw one, no, two big herds of wild asses! We sped off towards them. There were probably 20 asses in this part of the sanctuary and we were able to get right in close between them. The guide told us this never happens to see so many. After they got a bit used to the jeep, I asked if we could get out and walk nearer. “You can, but they will run away.” We got out and I crept respectably close to one herd and snapped away with my camera. At first they sniffed, watched and swiveled their ears, but then they relaxed. Some laid down on the ground to sun themselves. “Incredible,” said the guide as he crept up beside me. The three of us sat there a long time, just enjoying the presence of these gorgeous animals. It felt peaceful and harmonious. Eventually it was time to go and see a few more things.

Our next stop was to watch salt farmers. The people we met were nomadic people who mine salt in the winter and grow crops in the summer. They bore 30 metres down by hand to the salty groundwater, run irrigation, create a salt pan by hard packing the soil, laying a crisp layer of solid salt, and then flood it, letting it evaporate, raking the top layers to the side to keep it crystalline and then selling the crystals. It’s physically demanding work and that’s why you really shouldn’t spill salt. None of that devil business.

The last stop was a lake to watch birds. On the way we spotted a pheasant, a green bee-eater, a kingfisher and a massive flock of Eurasian cranes. The cranes, it turned out, had been on their way to the lake so it was pretty full. There were cranes galore, black-winged stilt legs, sandpipers and pink flamingos! Yay! It was delightful to watch. This time I took his advice and didn’t approach the lake, but two other yobos from another jeep charged forward and scared all the closer birds away. At least we had some time with them. We needed to get back, anyway. We still had an 8 hour drive to Dwarka ahead of us.