Asian wild ass  (Equus hemionus)

40,000 years ago in the late Pleistocene era, Asian wild asses extended to west Germany (4). Today, their distribution has become greatly reduced (3). The most abundant population today is found in southern Mongolia. This population alone accounts for around 80% of the total population of the species (4). 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 (E. h onager) is found in two very small sub-populations in Iran. The kulan (E. h. 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 (4). The Gobi kulan (E. h luteus) is found in southern Mongolia and possibly northern China and the Mongolian wild ass (E. h. hemionus) in northern Mongolia (4).

Inhabits flat steppe, semidesert or desert. They are always found within 30 km of a spring or oasis (2).