THE nonchalance of salt manufacturers as well as the government is causing destruction to the wild ass sanctuary in the Little Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. The Kutch is also home to the near-extinct Great Indian Bustard, the caracal and the desert cat.

The Kutch wild ass belongs to the Asiatic wild ass family and is found occasionally in Ladakh. It can tolerate extreme fluctuations in temperature, from the biting cold of Ladakh at 16,000 feet to the searing heat of the Kutch at 45