AHMEDABAD: While rapid industrialization may have emerged as a major concern for the rising Asiatic lion population in Gujarat , the Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) holds up a different picture. It is in the harsh desert here that the conservation story of the Indian Wild Ass unfolds amid the massive salt production activity carried on by thousands of Agariyas or salt-pan workers.Apart from Asiatic lion, Gujarat is also the only abode for the Indian wild ass, locally called Gudhkhur. It has been pulled from the brink of extinction by years of effort.The LRK region, spread over 5,000 sq km, is the only protected home for the Indian wild ass (Equus hemionus khur) and is also the world’s largest single location for inland salt making.The shy and handsome beast became a topic of discussion during the Uttar Pradesh election when Samajwadi party leader Akhilesh Yadav made the ‘Gujarat ke gadhe’ jibe at his political rivals.“From 4,451 in 2014, their numbers may well have swelled to about 6,000,” said a government official. A five-year population census for the Indian wild ass will be carried out in November- December this year.So far there have been no reports of man-animal conflict in the region for past many years now, a game changer has been the use of solar energy to power diesel pumps for salt production. About 800 of the total 12,000 odd salt farms have started using this clean and green technology. The total population of Agariyas is estimated be about 40,000 in LRK.The Little Rann offers the best model for community-based wildlife conservation, according to Harinesh Pandya, president of Agariya Hitrakshak Samiti, an association of salt workers.“The people here willingly give up about 20% of their crop to the Gudhkhurs. Use of solar power has cut the input cost of production by at least 40% for the farmers. This has helped reduce noise and environment pollution in the area,” said Pandya. Citing incidents where wild ass took shelter near salt pans to evade poachers, Pandya says the agariyas and wild ass have co-existed for long.The LRK has dual characteristics — that of a wetland and a desert. From June to September, the entire desert gets submerged in rainwater as well as seawater, bringing a grinding halt to all salt-making activities here.“After the crash in wild ass population (from 4,500 to 350 khur) in late 1960s due to African Horse Sickness (commonly known as Surra), the khur population had gone through a severe bottleneck. It took almost over four decades of intense protection (since 1972) by forest department for this species to reach the current population,” said Nita Shah, a conservation ecologist and equestrian specialist.The Sakkarbaug Zoo has been proactive in captive breeding of the Indian wild ass to safeguard and maintain the genetic resource and gene pool, Shah said.A state forest department official said LRK consists of many islands or oases with rich biodiversity where animals seek shelter during flooding. Also, the wild ass is fast and sturdy and difficult to hunt, the official said.One of the concerns, Shah says, has been a rise in population outside the protected area which needs urgent managerial and scientific intervention.