46-610: Equus onager (Boddaert, 1785) The onager ( / ˈ ɒ n ə dʒ ər / )( Equus hemionus ), also known as hemione or Asiatic wild ass , is a species of the family Equidae native to Asia . A member of the subgenus Asinus , the onager was described and given its binomial name by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in 1775. Six subspecies have been recognized, two of which are extinct. The onager weighs about 200–260 kg (440–570 lb) and reaches about 2.1 m (6.9 ft) head-body length. They are reddish-brown or yellowish-brown in color and have broad dorsal stripe on
92-531: A 700,000-year-old middle Pleistocene horse metapodial bone from Canada implies a more recent 4.07 Mya for the most recent common ancestor within the range of 4.0 to 4.5 Mya. The oldest divergencies are the Asian hemiones (subgenus E. ( Asinus ) , including the kulan , onager, and kiang ), followed by the African zebras (subgenera E. ( Dolichohippus ) , and E. ( Hippotigris ) ). All other modern forms including
138-506: A cross between an onager and a donkey. In the Hebrew Bible there is a reference to the onager in Job 39:5: Who freed the wild donkey, loosed the ropes of the onager? In La Peau de Chagrin by Honoré de Balzac , the onager is identified as the animal from which comes the ass' skin or shagreen of the title. A short poem by Ogden Nash also features the onager: Have you ever harked to
184-500: A donkey-shaped head. The oldest fossil to date is about 3.5 million years old from Idaho, USA. The genus appears to have spread quickly into the Old World, with the similarly aged Equus livenzovensis documented from western Europe and Russia. Molecular phylogenies indicate the most recent common ancestor of all modern equids (members of the genus Equus ) lived around 5.6 (3.9–7.8) million years ago (Mya). Direct paleogenomic sequencing of
230-537: A few very hot wildlife sanctuaries of Gujarat. The Persian onager is found in two subpopulations in southern and northern Iran. The larger population is found at Khar Turan National Park . However, it is extirpated from Afghanistan. The Turkmenian kulan used to be widespread in central to north Asia. However, it is now found in Turkmenistan and has been reintroduced in southern Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Asiatic wild asses are mostly active at dawn and dusk, even during
276-541: A lifestyle is also seen in the wild horse, the plains zebras ( E. quagga ) and mountain zebras ( E. zebra ). Southern populations of onagers in the Middle East and South Asia tend to have a purely territorial life, where areas partly overlap. Dominant stallions have home ranges of 9 km (3.5 sq mi), but they can also be significantly larger. These territories include food and rest stops and permanent or periodic water sources. The waters are usually at
322-508: A major decline to the Indian wild ass population in the 1960s. However, the subspecies is no longer under threat to such disease and is continuously increasing in number. Various breeding programs have been started for the onager subspecies in captivity and in the wild, which increases their numbers to save the endangered species. The species is legally protected in many of the countries in which it occurs. The priority for future conservation measures
368-621: A new survey found approximately 20,000 individuals over an area of 177,563 square kilometres (68,557 sq mi) in southern Mongolia. The species had decreased to 14,000 individuals in 2009. The population estimates of the Mongolian population should be treated with caution due to a lack of proven survey protocols. The Mongolian wild ass are herbivorous mammals. They feed on grasses , herbs and vegetation . They also feed on shrubs and trees in drier habitats. During spring and summer in Mongolia,
414-430: A series of drought years could have devastating effects on this beleaguered species. Habitat loss and fragmentation are also major threats to the onager, a particular concern in Mongolia as a result of the increasingly dense network of roads, railway lines, and fences required to support mining activities. The Asiatic wild ass is also vulnerable to diseases . A disease known as the "South African horse sickness" caused
460-487: A strategy. The family became relatively diverse during the Miocene epoch, with many new species appearing. By this time, equids were more truly horse like, having developed the typical body shape of the modern animals. Many of these species bore the main weight of their bodies on their central third toe, with the others becoming reduced and barely touching the ground, if at all. The sole surviving genus, Equus , had evolved by
506-562: A substitute or even a cheap alternative to meat from domestic animals. In 2005, a national survey based on questionnaires , suggested that as many as 4,500 wild asses, about 20% of the whole population, may be poached each year. Moreover, political changes in the early 1990s allowed urban populations to return to nomadic land use , resulting in a sharp increase in human and livestock numbers in many rural areas. Political and societal changes have disrupted traditional land use patterns, weakened law enforcement and also changed attitudes towards
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#1732851153604552-418: Is about 200 to 260 kg (440 to 570 lb) in size and 2.1 to 2.5 m (6 ft 11 in to 8 ft 2 in) in head-body length. Male onagers are usually larger than females. The genus Equus , which includes all extant equines, is believed to have evolved from Dinohippus via the intermediate form Plesippus . One of the oldest species is Equus simplicidens , described as zebra-like with
598-458: Is declining due to poaching and competition from grazing livestock . The conservation status of the species is evaluated as endangered . The Mongolian khulan are threatened by apex predators such as gray wolves , dholes and formerly by tigers that became extinct within the regions. Poaching for meat appears to be an increasing problem in Mongolia. For some parts of the local population, wild ass and other wildlife meat seems to provide
644-409: Is more limited than in the winter. Onagers also occasionally form large group associations of 450 to 1,200 individuals, but this usually only occurs in places with food or water sources. As these larger groups dissolve again within a day, no overarching hierarchy apart from the ranking of the individual herds seems to exist. Young male onagers also frequently form "bachelor groups" during the winter. Such
690-460: Is more specifically grouped within the superfamily Equoidea , the only other family being the extinct Palaeotheriidae . The term equid refers to any member of this family, including any equine . The oldest known fossils assigned to Equidae were found in North America, and date from the early Eocene epoch, 54 million years ago. They were once assigned to the genus Hyracotherium , but
736-533: Is seasonal, and the gestation period of onagers is 11 months; the birth lasts a little more than 10 minutes. Mating and births occur from April to September, with an accumulation from June to July. The mating season in India is in the rainy season. The foal can stand and starts to nurse within 15 to 20 minutes. Females with young tend to form groups of up to five females. During rearing, a foal and dam remain close, but other animals and her own older offspring are displaced by
782-565: Is the most common subspecies, but its populations have drastically decreased to a few thousand due to years of poaching and habitat loss in East Asia . The Gobi Desert is the onager's main stronghold. It is regionally extinct in eastern Kazakhstan, southern Siberia, and the Manchurian region of China. The Indian wild ass was once found throughout the arid parts and desert steppes of northwest India and Pakistan, but about 4,500 of them are found in
828-505: Is to ensure the protection of this species in particularly vulnerable parts of its range, to encourage the involvement of local people in the conservation of the onager, and to conduct further research into the behavior, ecology, and taxonomy of the species. Two onager subspecies, the Persian onager and the Turkmenian kulan are being reintroduced to their former ranges, including in other regions
874-676: The IUCN Red List in 2015. Of the five subspecies , one is extinct, two are endangered, and two are near threatened; its status in China is not well known. The specific name is from the Ancient Greek ἡμίονος , hēmíonos , from ἡμι- , hēmi- , 'half', and ὄνος , ónos , 'donkey'; thus, 'half-donkey' or mule . The term onager comes from the ancient Greek ὄναγρος , again from ὄνος , ónos , 'donkey', and ἄγριος , ágrios , 'wild'. The species
920-482: The Standard of Ur , c. 2550 BC . Clutton-Brock (1992) suggests that these were donkeys rather than onagers on the basis of a "shoulder stripe". However, close examination of the animals (equids, sheep and cattle ) on both sides of the piece indicate that what appears to be a stripe may well be a harness, a trapping, or a joint in the inlay. Genetic testing of skeletons from that era shows that they were kungas ,
966-569: The Turkmenian kulan . The Mongolian wild ass has become primarily confined to the desert-steppe, semi-desert and deserts habitats of Gobi Desert . The Mongolian wild ass is the most widespread subspecies, although despite that, the subspecies lost about 50% of its former distribution range in Mongolia in the past 70 years. The former range of the Asiatic wild ass in East Asia between the seventeenth and
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#17328511536041012-440: The type species of that genus is now regarded as a palaeothere . The other species have been split off into different genera. These early equids were fox-sized animals with three toes on the hind feet, and four on the front feet. They were herbivorous browsers on relatively soft plants, and already adapted for running. The complexity of their brains suggest that they already were alert and intelligent animals. Later species reduced
1058-536: The Asian wild ass can vary widely, depending on different habitats and ranges, and on threats by predators including humans. In Mongolia and Central Asia ( E. h. hemionus and E. h. kulan ), an onager stallion can adopt harem-type social groups, with several mares and foals in large home areas in the southwest, or in territory-based social groups in the south and southeast. Also, annual large hikes occur, covering 4.5 km (1.7 sq mi) to 40 km (15 sq mi), where hiking in summer
1104-593: The International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) and was added to appendix II of the Convention of Migratory Species in 2002. However, due to human population growth in conjunction with severe winters in the past years, the number of conflicts between herders and Mongolian wild asses appear on the increase. Information on the basic biology of the subspecies and how it differs from others
1150-561: The Mongolian wild ass is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN . Current population estimates are approximately 42,000 individuals in Mongolia and around 5,000 individuals in Northern China. The Mongolian wild ass is synonymous with the Gobi khulan ( Equus hemionus luteus ), also called the chigetai , dziggetai or simply khulan , Mongolian : Хулан . The term khulan is cognate with
1196-458: The Syrian wild ass used to occur in the Middle East. The two subspecies have been reintroduced to the wild of Israel since 1982, and had been breeding hybrids there, whilst the Persian onager alone has been reintroduced to Jordan and the deserts of Saudi Arabia. Onagers are notoriously difficult to tame. Equids were used in ancient Sumer to pull wagons c. 2600 BC , and then chariots on
1242-565: The base of woody plants. The succulent plants of the Zygophyllaceae form an important component of its diet in Mongolia during spring and summer When natural water sources are unavailable, the onager digs holes in dry riverbeds to reach subsurface water. The onager is preyed upon by predators such as Persian leopards and striped hyenas . A few cases of onager deaths due to predation by leopards have been recorded in Iran. The greatest threat facing
1288-501: The dam. Occasionally, stallions in territorial wild populations expel the young to mate with the mare again. Wild Asian wild asses reach an age of 14 years, but in captivity, they can live up to 26 years. The onager is a herbivore and eats grasses, herbs, leaves, fruits, and saline vegetation when available. In dry habitats, it browses on shrubs and trees, but also feeds on seed pods such as Prosopis and breaks up woody vegetation with its hooves to get at more succulent herbs growing at
1334-491: The domesticated horse (and many fossil Pliocene and Pleistocene forms) belong to the subgenus E. ( Equus ) which diverged about 4.8 (3.2–6.5) Mya. The onagers' favored habitats consist of desert plains, semideserts, oases , arid grasslands, savannahs, shrublands , steppes, mountainous steppes, and mountain ranges . The Turkmenian kulan and Mongolian wild asses are known to live in hot and colder deserts. The IUCN estimates about 28,000 mature individuals in total remain in
1380-446: The early Pleistocene epoch, and spread rapidly through the world. [REDACTED] Mongolian wild ass The Mongolian wild ass ( Equus hemionus hemionus ), also known as Mongolian khulan , is the nominate subspecies of the onager . It is found in southern Mongolia and northern China . It was previously found in eastern Kazakhstan and southern Siberia before being extirpated there through hunting . As of 2015,
1426-458: The edge of a coalfield and not in the center. Mares with foals sometimes find themselves in small groups, in areas up to 20 km (7.7 sq mi), which overlap with those of the other groups and dominant stallions. Such features are also seen among Grévy's zebras ( E. grevyi ) and the African wild asses. The Asian wild ass is sexually mature at two years old, and the first mating usually takes place at three to four years old. Breeding
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1472-431: The extant horses, asses , and zebras , and many other species known only from fossils . The family evolved around 50 million years ago from a small, multi-toed ungulate into larger, single-toed animals. All extant species are in the genus Equus , which originated in North America. Equidae belongs to the order Perissodactyla , which includes the extant tapirs and rhinoceros , and several extinct families. It
1518-434: The intense heat. Like most equids, onagers are social animals. Stallions are either solitary or live in groups of two or three. The males have been observed holding harems of females, but in other studies, the dominant stallions defend territories that attract females. Differences in behaviour and social structure likely are the result of changes in climate, vegetation cover, predation, and hunting. The social behavior of
1564-420: The jackass wild, which scientists call the onager? It sounds like the laugh of an idiot child, or a hepcat on a harmonager. But do not laugh at the jackass wild, for there is method in his he-haw: for with maidenly blush, and accent mild, the jenny-ass answers "She-haw". Equidae Equidae (commonly known as the horse family ) is the taxonomic family of horses and related animals, including
1610-529: The middle of the back. The onager has never been domesticated. It is among the fastest mammals , as they can run as fast as 64–70 km/h (40–43 mph). The onager formerly had a wider range from southwest and central to northern Asia including the Levant region, Arabian Peninsula , Afghanistan and Siberia ; the prehistoric European wild ass subspecies ranged through Europe until the Bronze age. During early 20th century,
1656-424: The middle of the nineteenth century encompassed the greater part of Mongolia, areas of Siberia and Manchuria , the western part of Inner Mongolia and the northern part of Xinjiang . Its distribution range then dramatically reduced during the 1990s. A 1994–1997 survey estimated its population size at 33,000 to 63,000 individuals over a continuous distribution range encompassing all of southern Mongolia. In 2003,
1702-470: The number of toes, and developed teeth more suited for grinding up grasses and other tough plant food. The equids, like other perissodactyls, are hindgut fermenters . They have evolved specialized teeth that cut and shear tough plant matter to accommodate their fibrous diet. Their seemingly inefficient digestion strategy is a result of their size at the time of its evolution, as they would have already had to be relatively large mammals to be supported on such
1748-457: The onager include: A sixth possible subspecies, the Gobi khulan ( E. h. luteus , also called the chigetai or dziggetai ) has been proposed, but may be synonymous with E. h. hemionus . Debates over the taxonomic identity of the onager occurred until 1980. As of 2015, four living subspecies and one extinct subspecies of the Asiatic wild ass have been recognized. The Persian onager
1794-417: The onager is poaching for meat and hides, and in some areas for use in traditional medicine. The extreme isolation of many subpopulations also threatens the species, as genetic problems can result from inbreeding. Overgrazing by livestock reduces food availability, and herders also reduce the availability of water at springs. The cutting down of nutritious shrubs and bushes exacerbates the problem. Furthermore,
1840-549: The species lost most of its range in the Middle East and Eastern Asia . Today, onagers live in deserts and other arid regions of Iran , Kazakhstan , Uzbekistan , Turkmenistan , India , Mongolia and China . Other than deserts, it lives in grasslands , plains , steppes , and savannahs . Like many other large grazing animals, the onager's range has contracted greatly under the pressures of poaching and habitat loss . The onager has been classified as Near Threatened on
1886-518: The succulent plants of the family Zygophyllaceae form an important component of the diet of the Mongolian wild ass. Mongolian khulans are known to dig holes at dry river beds and water sources to access subsurface water to drink in response of the lack of water during hot summers in the Gobi Desert. Watering holes dug by khulans are also used by other species (wild and domestic) as well as by humans to access to water. The Mongolian wild ass population
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1932-483: The use of natural resources, e.g., making wildlife an "open access" resource. It is expected that the re-migration of people and their livestock will result in increased wildlife–human interactions and may well threaten the survival of rare wildlife species in the Gobi Desert . Since 1953, the Mongolian wild ass has been fully protected in Mongolia. The subspecies is also listed at appendix I of CITES (the Convention on
1978-801: The wild. During the late Pleistocene era around 40,000 years ago, the Asiatic wild ass ranged widely across Europe and in southwestern to northeastern Asia. It is also known from Middle Pleistocene fossils from the Nefud Desert of Saudi Arabia. The onager has been regionally extinct in Israel , Saudi Arabia , Iraq , Jordan , Syria , and southern regions of Siberia . The Mongolian wild ass lives in deserts, mountains, and grasslands of Mongolia and Inner Mongolian region of northern China. A few live in northern Xinjiang region of northwestern China, most of which live mainly in Kalamaili Nature Reserve . It
2024-666: Was commonly known as Asian wild ass, in which case the term onager was reserved for the E. h. onager subspecies, more specifically known as the Persian onager . Until this day, the species share the same name, onager . The onager is a member of the subgenus Asinus , belonging to the genus Equus and is classified under the family Equidae . The species was described and given its binomial name Equus hemionus by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in 1775. The Asiatic wild ass, among Old World equids, existed for more than 4 million years. The oldest divergence of Equus
2070-430: Was formerly known as Equus onager , as it was thought to be a distinct species. The onager is generally reddish-brown in color during the summer, becoming yellowish-brown or grayish-brown in the winter. It has a black stripe bordered in white that extends down the middle of the back. The belly, the rump, and the muzzle are white, except for the Mongolian wild ass that has a broad black dorsal stripe bordered with white. It
2116-618: Was the onager followed by the zebras and onwards. A new species called the kiang ( E. kiang ), a Tibetan relative, was previously considered to be a subspecies of the onager as E. hemionus kiang , but recent molecular studies indicate it to be a distinct species, having diverged from the closest relative of the Mongolian wild ass's ancestor less than 500,000 years ago. Syrian wild ass ( E. h. hemippus ) Persian onager ( E. h. onager ) Indian wild ass ( E. h. khur ) Turkmenian kulan ( E. h. kulan ) Mongolian wild ass ( E. h. hemionus ) Six widely recognized subspecies of
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