ass: Asian Wild Ass
Asian Wild Ass
The Asian wild ass, also known as the onager (a term also used historically for one of its subspecies), typically has a sandy-colored coat with lighter-colored legs and belly, a short erect black mane, a black spinal stripe, and a black tail tuft. Its neigh is shrill. Different subspecies of this ass vary in size, with the largest reaching about 55 in. (140 cm) in shoulder height. They were once widely distributed across Asia, but they have been crowded out of their grazing lands by domestic livestock and have been hunted for their flesh and hides. Each subspecies is now restricted to a very limited territory within their former range. Among them are the Persian wild ass, or onager, of Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan; the Turkmenian kulan of Central Asia; the Mongolian wild ass, or Mongolian khulan, of E Kazakhstan and NE Asia; and the Indian ass, or ghudkhur, of S Asia. All are considered endangered, and the continued survival of the Persian and Mongolian subspecies is particularly threatened. The Syrian wild ass, formerly found in SW Asia, is extinct, but some of the other subspecies have been introduced into a few areas of its range.
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