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The Indian wild ass—wild and captive populations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2009

Jan M. Smielowski
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor of Zoology, Department of Zoology, Academy of Agriculture, Wojska Polskiego 71 C, 60–625 Poznan, Poland.
Praduman P. Raval
Affiliation:
Assistant Conservator of Forests—Sardar Baug Wildlife Circle and Sakkarbaug Zoo Officer, Junagadh 362001, Gujurat, India.
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Abstract

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The ghor-khar is a rare subspecies of onager, or Asiatic wild ass, and its habits are little known. The only known wild population inhabits the Little Rann of Kutch Desert in Gujarat State in western India and, after its numbers fell dramatically in the 1960s, it was declared a protected species. Conservation measures, including the establishment of a Wild Ass Sanctuary in 1973, have been so successful that the most recent census, in 1983, recorded nearly 2000 individuals, compared with 362 in 1967. The authors made four visits to Gujarat to study wild asses between 1984 and 1986.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Fauna and Flora International 1988

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