Asiatic wild ass  (Equus hemionus)

Around 40,000 years ago, in the late Pleistocene era, Asian wild asses extended as far west as Germany (6). The current distribution of this species is vastly reduced (7). The Mongolian wild ass is found only in southern Mongolia and parts of northern China, but is by far the most abundant remaining subspecies. The sub-population in southern Mongolia alone accounts for almost 80 percent of the species' entire population (5) (6). All other populations number fewer than a hundred individuals. The Indian wild ass, also known as the khur, was once found throughout the arid part of north-west India (including part of present-day Pakistan), but it is now restricted to a small area of Gujarat, India. The onager is found in two very small sub-populations in Iran. The kulan is found in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, where it has undergone a dramatic decline. The kulan, onager and Indian wild ass all have very small and highly isolated sub-populations, and so are at great risk of extinction caused by chance events, such as the outbreak of disease or extreme climate events (1) (6).

The Asiatic wild ass inhabits flat steppe, semi-desert or desert and is always found within 30 km of a source of water (1) (5).