Little Rann of Kutch (December 15th to 19th, 2003)

The Little Rann of Kachchh extends northeast from the Gulf of Kachchh and occupies about 2,000 square miles (5,100 square km) in Gujarat state. Situated in the Thar Desert, Little Rann of Kutch was established in January 1972 as a sanctuary for the last population of Indian Wild Ass (khar). Once below sea level, this area was raised by earth movements which cut it off from the Gulf of Kutch, and was broken up by later earth movements into the flat saline areas (here people can be seen making salt), and higher grounds with sandy, salt-free soil. This uninhabitable desert during the monsoon season (June to October) is often completely submerged by floods.

This is one of the largest wildlife sanctuaries in India comprising a range of habitats from saline desert plains, arid grasslands, rocky and thorn scrub to lakes and marshes. It is indeed a wonder that even this “desert” supports so much life. The rare MacQueen’s Bustard winters here. The Lesser Flamingo breeds here. Thousands of Common Cranes arrive here during the winter. The Wheatears, The Larks, The Pelicans...they are all here. Bill Harvey’s report mentions “162 species of birds in three days”

It was a breathtaking experience for me as I drove through a part of this desert in a open jeep and shot whatever I saw!! ... A large heard of over 100 Wild Asses, MacQueen’s Bustards quietly sitting in the middle of nowhere! A peacefully sleeping Indian fox… among other animals.

I stayed at Camp Zainabad – Desert Coursers . www.desertcoursers.net from Monday night, 15th December, 2003 to Friday morning 19th December, 2003. Dhanraj Malik (Ph. 02757241333) is a great host. He is the true “son of the soil” at Zainabad. It took me a little more than 2 hrs to drive from Ahmedabad to Zainabad. Bakulesh (ph: 09825015337) is a great resource for any travel arrangement in Gujarat.

Please click on the below links to view the images that I was able to shoot in three days. (These images will change as I continue to shoot better ones elsewhere)

Regards,

Vijay Cavale

December, 2003