Equus hemionus Pallas, 1775

Summer and Winter Coat Color

The onager (Equus hemionus) generally has a reddish-brown coat in summer, which changes to yellowish-brown or greyish-brown in winter.

Dorsal Stripe Marking

It has a black stripe bordered in white that runs down the middle of its back.

Light-Colored Body Markings

Its belly, rump, and muzzle are white, except for the Mongolian wild ass, which also has a broad black dorsal stripe bordered with white.

Adult Size and Weight

Adult onagers weigh 200 to 260 kg (440 to 570 lb) and measure 2.1 to 2.5 m (6 ft 11 in to 8 ft 2 in) in head-to-body length, and males are usually larger than females.

General Habitat Preferences

Onagers favor habitats including desert plains, semideserts, oases, arid grasslands, savannahs, shrublands, steppes, mountainous steppes, and mountain ranges.

Subspecies Habitat Tolerance

The Turkmenian kulan and Mongolian wild ass are known to inhabit both hot and colder deserts.

Global Wild Mature Population Estimate

The IUCN estimates that around 28,000 mature onagers remain in the wild.

Late Pleistocene Historical Range

Around 40,000 years ago during the late Pleistocene, the Asiatic wild ass had a wide range across Europe, and from southwestern to northeastern Asia.

Middle Pleistocene Fossil Record

Middle Pleistocene fossils of the species have also been found in Saudi Arabia's Nefud Desert.

Regional Extinctions (Broad)

The species is regionally extinct in Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, and southern Siberia.

Mongolian Wild Ass Current Range

The Mongolian wild ass, the most common subspecies, lives in deserts, mountains, and grasslands of Mongolia and the Inner Mongolian region of northern China; a small number also live in the Kalamaili Nature Reserve in northern Xinjiang, northwestern China.

Mongolian Wild Ass Core Habitat

The Gobi Desert is this subspecies' main stronghold.

Mongolian Wild Ass Population Status and Extinctions

Its population has dropped drastically to a few thousand due to decades of poaching and habitat loss across East Asia, and it is regionally extinct in eastern Kazakhstan, southern Siberia, and the Manchurian region of China.

Indian Wild Ass Range and Population

The Indian wild ass was once found throughout arid areas and desert steppes of northwest India and Pakistan; around 4,500 individuals remain today, located in a small number of very hot wildlife sanctuaries in Gujarat, India.

Persian Onager Population Status

The Persian onager has two separate subpopulations in southern and northern Iran, with the largest subpopulation located in Khar Turan National Park, and it is extinct in Afghanistan.

Turkmenian Kulan Range Status

The Turkmenian kulan was once widespread across central to northern Asia; today it is found in Turkmenistan, and has been reintroduced to southern Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Sexual Maturity and Mating Age

Asian wild asses reach sexual maturity at two years old, and first mating typically occurs when individuals are three to four years old.

Breeding Season Timing

Breeding is seasonal, with mating and births taking place from April to September, and most events occurring between June and July; in India, the mating season falls during the rainy season.

Gestation and Birth Duration

The gestation period for onagers is 11 months, and birth takes just over 10 minutes.

Foal Post-Birth Development

A foal can stand and begin nursing within 15 to 20 minutes of birth.

Female Group Structure With Young

Females with young tend to form groups of up to five individuals.

Dam Rearing Behavior

While rearing a foal, the dam stays close to her young and chases away other animals, including her own older offspring.

Stallion Reproductive Behavior

Occasionally, stallions in territorial wild populations expel the young to mate with the mare again.

Lifespan

Wild Asian wild asses live up to 14 years of age, while captive individuals can live up to 26 years.