Editing Onager

{{Short description|Species of mammal}}
{{About|the Equid species|the siege weapon|Onager (weapon)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Onager
| fossil_range = {{fossilrange|4.5|0}}{{small|Early [[Pliocene]] – [[Holocene]]}}
| image = Rostov-on-Don Zoo Persian onager IMG 5268 1725.jpg
| image_upright = 1.2
| image_caption = A [[Persian onager]] (''Equus hemionus onager'') at Rostov-on-Don Zoo, [[Russia]]
| status = NT
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |title=''Equus hemionus'' |name-list-style=amp |author=Kaczensky, P. |author2=Lkhagvasuren, B. |author3=Pereladova, O. |author4=Hemami, M. |author5=Bouskila, A. |date=2020 |page=e.T7951A166520460 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T7951A166520460.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| parent = Equus (Asinus)
| taxon = Equus hemionus<ref name=MSW3>{{MSW3 Perissodactyla |id=14100020 |page=632}}</ref>
| authority = [[Peter Simon Pallas|Pallas]], 1775
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision = * ''[[Mongolian wild ass|E. h. hemionus]]'' {{small|(Pallas, 1775)}}
* ''[[Turkmenian kulan|E. h. kulan]]'' {{small|([[Colin Groves|Groves]] and [[Vratislav Mazák|Mazák]], 1967)}}
* ''[[Persian onager|E. h. onager]]'' {{small|([[Pieter Boddaert|Boddaert]], 1785)}}
* ''[[Indian wild ass|E. h. khur]]'' {{small|([[René Lesson|Lesson]], 1827)}}
* {{extinct}}''[[Syrian wild ass|E. h. hemippus]]'' {{small|([[Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire|Geoffroy]], 1855)}}
* {{extinct}}''[[European ass|E. h. hydruntinus]]'' {{small|(Regalia, 1907)}}
| range_map = Equus hemionus map.png
| range_map_upright = 1.2
| range_map_caption = Onager range
| synonyms = ''Equus onager'' {{small|(Boddaert, 1785)}}
}}
The '''onager''' ({{IPAc-en|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 [[Scientific description|described]] and given its binomial name by German zoologist [[Peter Simon Pallas]] in 1775. Six subspecies have been recognized.

The onager is reddish-brown or yellowish-brown and has a broad dorsal stripe on the middle of the back. It weighs about {{cvt|200|-|260|kg}} and reaches about {{cvt|2.1|m}} head-body length. It is among the [[Fastest animals#Mammals|fastest mammals]], capable of running {{cvt|64–70|km/h}}.

The onager 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 the early 20th century, it lost most of its range in the [[Middle East]] and [[Eastern Asia]] and lives today in [[Iran]],  [[Kazakhstan]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Turkmenistan]], [[India]], [[Mongolia]] and [[China]]. It inhabits deserts and arid regions, [[grassland]]s, [[plain]]s, [[steppe]]s, and [[savannah]]s. Like many other large grazing animals, its range has contracted greatly under the pressures of [[poaching]] and [[habitat loss]]. It has been classified as [[Near Threatened]] on the [[IUCN Red List]] in 2015. One [[subspecies]] is extinct, two are endangered, and two are near threatened; its status in China is not well known.

==Etymology==
The [[species|specific name]] is from the [[Ancient Greek]] {{langx|grc|ἡμίονος|hēmíonos|label=none}}, from {{langx|grc|[[wikt:hemi-|ἡμι-]]|hēmi-|half|label=none}}, and {{langx|grc|ὄνος|ónos|donkey|label=none}}; thus, 'half-donkey' or [[mule]]. The term ''onager'' comes from the ancient Greek {{lang|grc|ὄναγρος}}, again from {{langx|grc|ὄνος|ónos|donkey|label=none}}, and {{langx|grc|ἄγριος|ágrios|wild|label=none}}.

The species was commonly known as Asian wild ass, in which case the term ''onager'' was reserved for the ''E.&nbsp;h.&nbsp;onager'' subspecies,<ref name="SSC">{{cite web |url=http://data.iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/equid/ASWAss.html |title=Asiatic Wild Ass &nbsp; ''Equus hemionus'' |work=IUCN |location=Gland, Switzerland |publisher=IUCN/SSC Equid Specialist Group |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121220184116/http://data.iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/equid/ASWAss.html |archive-date=20 December 2012}}</ref> more specifically known as the [[Persian onager]]. Until this day, the species share the same name, ''onager''.

==Taxonomy and evolution==
{{main|Evolution of the horse#Modern horses}}
The onager is a member of the [[subgenus]] ''[[Asinus]]'', belonging to the [[Genus (biology)|genus]] ''[[Equus (genus)|Equus]]'' and is classified under the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Equidae]]. The [[species]] was [[Scientific description|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'' was the onager followed by the zebras and onwards.<ref name = "WeinstockMolecularPerspective">{{cite journal |last=Weinstock |first=J. |year=2005 |title=Evolution, systematics, and phylogeography of Pleistocene horses in the New World: a molecular perspective |journal=[[PLOS Biology]] |volume=3 |issue=8 |pages=e241 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0030241 |pmid=15974804 |pmc=1159165 |display-authors=etal |doi-access=free }}</ref> A new species called the [[kiang]] (''E.{{nbsp}}kiang''), a [[Tibet]]an relative, was previously considered to be a subspecies of the onager as ''E.{{nbsp}}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.<ref name=Ryder1990>{{cite journal |author1=Ryder, O.A. |author2=Chemnick, L.G. |name-list-style=amp |year=1990 |title=Chromosomal and molecular evolution in Asiatic wild asses |journal=Genetica |volume=83 |issue=1 |pages=67–72 |doi=10.1007/BF00774690 |pmid=2090563|s2cid=12351710}}</ref>
{{clade| style=font-size:100%; line-height:100%
|1={{clade
 |1=[[Syrian wild ass]] (''E. h. hemippus'')
 |2={{clade
  |1=[[Persian onager]] (''E. h. onager'')
  |2={{clade
   |1={{clade
    |1=[[Indian wild ass]] (''E. h. khur'')
    |2=[[Turkmenian kulan]] (''E. h. kulan'') }}
   |2=[[Mongolian wild ass]] (''E. h. hemionus'') }}
  }}
 }}
}}

===Subspecies===
Six widely recognized subspecies of the onager include:<ref name="SSC" />
{| class="wikitable collapsed" style="width:100%;"
|- style="background:#115a6c;"
!Subspecies
!Image
!Trinomial authority
!Description
!Range
!Synonyms
|-
|{{ubl|'''[[Mongolian wild ass]]''' (''khulan'')|''E. h. hemionus''|[[Nominate subspecies]]}}
|[[File:Mongools steppepaard (4023673682).jpg|thumb]]
|Pallas, 1775
|
|Northern [[China]], eastern [[Kazakhstan]], [[Mongolia]], and [[Siberia]]
|{{ubl|{{small|''bedfordi'' (Matschie 1911)|''findschi'' (Matschie 1911)|''luteus'' (Matschie 1911)}}}}
|-
|{{ubl|'''[[Turkmenian kulan]]''' (''kulan'')|''E. h. kulan''}}
|[[File:Equus hemionus kulan.JPG|thumb]]
|Groves and Mazák, 1967
|One of the largest subspecies of onager. It is {{cvt|200–250|cm}} long, {{cvt|100–140|cm}} tall at the withers, and weighs {{cvt|200–240|kg}}. Male onagers are larger than the females.
|Northeastern [[Iran]], Northern [[Afghanistan]], western China, Kazakhstan, southern Siberia, [[Tajikistan]], [[Turkmenistan]], [[Ukraine]], Northern [[Mongolia]], and [[Uzbekistan]]
|{{small|''finschi'' (Matschie, 1911)}}
|-
|{{ubl|'''[[Persian onager]]''' (''gur'')|''E. h. onager''}}
|[[File:Onager Asiatischer Wildesel Equus hemionus onager Zoo Augsburg-11.jpg|thumb]]
|Boddaert, 1785
|
|Afghanistan, [[Iran]] and [[Pakistan]].
|
|-
|{{ubl|'''[[Indian wild ass]]''' (''khur'')|''E. h. khur''}}
|[[File:Equus hemionus khur 1.jpg|thumb]]
|Lesson, 1827
|
|Southern Afghanistan, [[India]], southeast Iran and Pakistan
|{{small|''indicus'' (Sclater, 1862)}}
|-
|{{ubl|'''{{extinct}}[[Syrian wild ass]]''' (''hemippe'')|''E. h. hemippus''}}
|[[File:SyrianWildAss-London Zoo.jpg|thumb]]
|Geoffroy, 1855
|Smallest subspecies, also the smallest form of Equidae
|Western Iran, [[Iraq]], [[Israel]], [[Jordan]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Syria]], and [[Turkey]]
|{{small|''syriacus'' (Milne-Edwards, 1869)}}
|-
|{{ubl|'''{{extinct}}[[European ass|European wild ass]]''' (''hydruntine'')|''E. h. hydruntinus''}}
|[[File:Drawing of a hydruntine.jpg|thumb]]
|Regalia, 1907
|Formerly thought to be a distinct species, shown to be a subspecies of Onager by genetic studies in 2017.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Bennett|first1=E. Andrew|last2=Champlot|first2=Sophie|last3=Peters|first3=Joris|last4=Arbuckle|first4=Benjamin S.|last5=Guimaraes|first5=Silvia|last6=Pruvost|first6=Mélanie|last7=Bar-David|first7=Shirli|last8=Davis|first8=Simon J. M.|last9=Gautier|first9=Mathieu|last10=Kaczensky|first10=Petra|last11=Kuehn|first11=Ralph|date=2017-04-19|editor-last=Janke|editor-first=Axel|title=Taming the late Quaternary phylogeography of the Eurasiatic wild ass through ancient and modern DNA|journal=PLOS ONE|language=en|volume=12|issue=4|pages=e0174216|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0174216|issn=1932-6203|pmc=5396879|pmid=28422966|bibcode=2017PLoSO..1274216B|doi-access=free}}</ref>
|Europe, Western Asia
|
|-
|}

A sixth possible subspecies, the Gobi khulan (''E.&nbsp;h.&nbsp;luteus'',<ref name=iucn/> also called the ''chigetai''<ref name=mason>{{cite book|editor-last=Porter|editor-first=Valerie|title=Mason's World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types, and Varieties|year=2002|publisher=CABI|location=Wallingford|isbn=0-85199-430-X|edition=5th|author=Ian Lauder Mason}}</ref> or ''dziggetai'') has been proposed, but may be synonymous with ''E.&nbsp;h.&nbsp;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 was formerly known as ''Equus onager'', as it was thought to be a distinct species.

==Characteristics==
[[File:Kulan Equus hemionus kulan Tiergarten-Nuernberg-9.jpg|thumb|upright|A Turkmenian kulan]]
[[File:Asian Wild Ass skeleton at MAV-USP.jpg|thumb|upright|The skeleton]]
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2024}}
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 is about {{cvt|200|to|260|kg}} in size and {{cvt|2.1|to|2.5|m}} in head-body length. Male onagers are usually larger than females.

==Evolution==
{{see also|Evolution of the horse}}
[[File:Equus eisenmannae.JPG|thumb|Skull of a giant extinct horse, ''Equus eisenmannae'']]
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 ''[[Hagerman Horse|Equus simplicidens]]'', described as zebra-like with 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.<ref name = "Azzaroli1992">{{cite journal |last=Azzaroli |first=A. |year=1992 |title=Ascent and decline of monodactyl equids: a case for prehistoric overkill |journal=Ann. Zool. Finnici |volume=28 |pages=151–163 |url=http://www.sekj.org/PDF/anzf28/anz28-151-163.pdf}}</ref>

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 a 700,000-year-old middle Pleistocene horse metapodial bone from Canada implies a more recent 4.07''&nbsp;''Mya for the most recent common ancestor within the range of 4.0 to 4.5''&nbsp;''Mya.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite journal |title=Recalibrating ''Equus evolution'' using the genome sequence of an early Middle Pleistocene horse |last1=Orlando|first1= L.|last2=Ginolhac|first2= A.|last3=Zhang|first3= G.|last4=Froese|first4= D.|last5=Albrechtsen|first5= A.|last6=Stiller|first6= M.|last7=Schubert|first7= M.|last8=Cappellini|first8= E.|last9=Petersen|first9= B.|journal=Nature|date=4 July 2013 |doi=10.1038/nature12323 |pmid=23803765 |volume=499 |issue=7456 |pages=74–8|bibcode=2013Natur.499...74O|s2cid=4318227|display-authors=etal}}</ref> The oldest divergencies are the Asian hemiones (subgenus ''E. ([[Asinus]])'', including the [[Turkmenian kulan|kulan]], onager, and [[kiang]]), followed by the African zebras (subgenera ''E. ([[Dolichohippus]])'', and ''E. ([[Hippotigris]])''). All other modern forms including the domesticated horse (and many fossil [[Pliocene]] and [[Pleistocene]] forms) belong to the subgenus ''E. ([[Equus (genus)|Equus]])'' which diverged about 4.8 (3.2–6.5) Mya.<ref name = "WeinstockMolecularPerspective"/>

==Distribution and habitat==
{{refimprove section|date=January 2022}}
[[File:Asiatic Wild ass.jpg|left|thumb|An Indian wild ass in [[Little Rann of Kutch]], [[Gujarat]]]]
The onagers' favored habitats consist of desert plains, semideserts, [[oases]], [[arid]] grasslands, savannahs, [[shrubland]]s, steppes, mountainous steppes, and [[mountain range]]s. 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 the wild.<ref name=iucn/>

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.<ref name="StimpsonEtAl2016">{{Cite journal |last=Stimpson |first=C. M. |last2=Lister |first2=A. |last3=Parton |first3=Ash |last4=Clark-Balzan |first4=Laine |last5=Breeze |first5=Paul S. |last6=Drake |first6=Nick A. |last7=Groucutt |first7=H. S. |last8=Jennings |first8=R. |last9=Scerri |first9=E. M.L. |last10=White |first10=T. S. |last11=Zahir |first11=M. |last12=Duval |first12=M. |last13=Grün |first13=R. |last14=Al-Omari |first14=A. |last15=Al Murayyi |first15=K. S. M. |date=2016 |title=Middle Pleistocene vertebrate fossils from the Nefud Desert, Saudi Arabia: Implications for biogeography and palaeoecology |journal=[[Quaternary Science Reviews]] |volume=143 |pages=13–36 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.05.016 |last16=Zalmout |first16=I. S. |last17=Mufarreh |first17=Y. A. |last18=Memesh |first18=A. M. |last19=Petraglia |first19=M. D.|hdl=10072/142575 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The onager has been regionally extinct in [[Israel]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Iraq]], [[Jordan]], [[Syria]], and southern regions of [[Siberia]].

[[File:Onagers Negev Mountains 1.jpg|thumb|Onagers at Wadi Lotz, Negev Mountains, Israel]]
The [[Mongolian wild ass]] lives in deserts, mountains, and grasslands of Mongolia and [[Inner Mongolia]]n region of northern China. A few live in northern Xinjiang region of northwestern China, most of which live mainly in [[Kalamaili Nature Reserve]]. It 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 [[Manchuria]]n 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 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.

==Biology and behavior==
{{refimprove section|date=January 2022}}
Asiatic wild asses are mostly active at dawn and dusk, even during the intense heat.

===Social structure===
[[File:6Kulane.jpg|thumb|right|A group of onagers]]
[[File:Indian wild Equus hemionus khur (440571528).jpg|thumb|right|A group of khurs]]
Like most equids, onagers are social animals. [[Stallion]]s are either solitary or live in groups of two or three. The males have been observed holding [[Harem (zoology)|harem]]s 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 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.&nbsp;h.&nbsp;hemionus'' and ''E.&nbsp;h.&nbsp;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 {{cvt|4.5|km2|sqmi}} to {{cvt|40|km2|sqmi}}, where hiking{{clarify|date=January 2022}} in summer 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 a lifestyle is also seen in the wild horse, the [[plains zebra]]s (''E.&nbsp;quagga'') and [[mountain zebra]]s (''E.&nbsp;zebra'').<!-- [does not make sense:] However, occasional formation of temporary territories can be defended in an aggressive way. -->

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 {{cvt|9|km2|sqmi}}, 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 the edge of a coalfield{{what|date=January 2022}} and not in the center.<!-- [does not make sense:] Frequently committed paths with [[feces]] and marked [[urine]], where often the same marker points are used. --> Mares with foals sometimes find themselves in small groups, in areas up to {{cvt|20|km2|sqmi}}, which overlap with those of the other groups and dominant stallions. Such features are also seen among Grévy's zebras (''E.&nbsp;grevyi'') and the African wild asses.

===Reproduction===
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2024}}
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 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<!--[does not make sense:]  after the latest one and a half hours -->. 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 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.

===Diet===
[[File:IndianWildAss (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Indian wild ass herd feeding on grass]]
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2024}}
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 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.

===Predation===
[[File:Getty Villa - Collection (5304807899).jpg|thumb|An Asiatic lion attacking an onager (Roman, {{c.|AD 150}})]]
The onager is preyed upon by predators such as [[Persian leopard]]s and [[striped hyena]]s. A few cases of onager deaths due to predation by leopards have been recorded in Iran.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Prey composition in the Persian leopard distribution range in Iran |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258220097 |author=Sanei, A., Zakaria, M., Hermidas, S. |year=2011 |journal=Asia Life Sciences Supplement 7 (1) |page=19−30}}</ref>

==Threats==
{{unreferenced section|date=January 2022}}
The greatest threat facing 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, 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 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.

==Conservation==
[[File:Onager Asiatischer Wildesel Equus hemionus onager Zoo Augsburg-04.jpg|thumb|A Persian onager in Augsburg Zoo]]
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 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 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,<ref name="Saltz 1995">{{cite journal |last=Saltz |first=D. |year=1995 |title=Population dynamics of a reintroduced Asiatic wild ass (''Equus Hemionus'') herd |journal=Ecological Applications |volume=5|issue=2 |pages=327–335|doi=10.2307/1942025 |jstor=1942025|bibcode=1995EcoAp...5..327S }}</ref> whilst the Persian onager alone has been reintroduced to Jordan and the deserts of Saudi Arabia.

==Relationship with humans==
[[File:Model of a chariot drawn by four horses abreast. Quadriga consists of a chariot and a charioteer with four onagers. From Tell Agrab, Iraq. Early Dynastic period, 2600-2370 BCE. Iraq Museum.jpg|thumb|Quadriga consists of a chariot and a charioteer with four onagers. From Tell Agrab, Iraq. Early Dynastic period, 2600–2370 BCE. Iraq Museum. This is the oldest known model of a quadriga drawn by onagers.]]
Onagers are notoriously  difficult to tame. Equids were used in ancient [[Sumer]] to pull wagons {{c.|2600 BC}}, and then [[chariot]]s on the [[Standard of Ur]], {{c.|2550 BC|lk=off}}. Clutton-Brock (1992) suggests that these were [[donkey]]s rather than onagers on the basis of a "shoulder stripe".<ref name="Clutton-Brock 1992">{{cite book |first=Juliet |last=Clutton-Brock |year=1992 |title=Horse Power: A History of the Horse and the Donkey in Human Societies |publisher=Harvard University Press | location=Boston, Massachusetts, US | isbn=978-0-674-40646-9}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Heimpel 1968">{{cite book | first=Wolfgang | last=Heimpel | year=1968 | title=Tierbilder in der Sumerische Literatur| publisher = Studia Pohl 2 | location = Italy }}</ref><ref name="Maekawa 1979">{{cite journal |last=Maekawa |first=K. |year=1979 |title=The Ass and the Onager in Sumer in the Late Third Millennium B.C. |journal=Acta Sumerologica |location=Hiroshima |volume=I |pages=35–62}}</ref> Genetic testing of skeletons from that era shows that they were [[kunga (equid)|kungas]], a cross between an onager and a donkey.

== In literature ==
In the [[Hebrew Bible]] there is a reference to the onager in Job 39:5:

{{quote|Who freed the wild donkey, loosed the ropes of the onager?|Job 39:5<ref>{{bibleverse|Job|39:5|CEB}}: [[Common English Bible]] translation, also in [[New King James Version]]</ref>}}

In {{lang|fr|[[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.{{fact|date=October 2021}}
{{Clear}}
[[File:Stamps of Israel - wild ass.jpg|thumb|145px|Israeli stamp, 1971<br/><small>{{center|'''WILD ASS'''}}</small>]]
A short poem by [[Ogden Nash]] also features the onager:

{{poemquote|Have you ever harked to 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".}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Duncan |editor-first=P. |year=1992 |title=Zebras, Asses, and Horses: An Action Plan for the Conservation of Wild Equids |location=Gland, Switzerland |publisher=IUCN/SSC Equid Specialist Group |isbn=9782831700526 |oclc=468402451}}

==External links==
{{Commons and category|Equus hemionus|Equus hemionus}}
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Wikispecies|Equus hemionus}}
* [https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9009913/ass "Ass"]—''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''
* [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/name/Equus_hemionus ''Equus hemionus'' bibliography] at The Biodiversity Heritage Library

{{Perissodactyla}}
{{Equus|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q180960}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Onager| ]]
[[Category:EDGE species]]
[[Category:Asinus]]
[[Category:Extant Pliocene first appearances]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Middle East]]
[[Category:Fauna of Iran]]
[[Category:Fauna of Iraq]]
[[Category:Fauna of West Asia]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1775]]
[[Category:Mammals of Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Mammals of Central Asia]]
[[Category:Mammals of Mongolia]]
[[Category:Mammals of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Near threatened biota of Asia]]