Asian wild ass - Asian wild ass

Japanese: アジアノロバ - あじあのろば

It is an animal of the order Perissodactyla, class Mammalia, family Equidae. It is also called Onager, which means "wild ass" in Greek. It is distributed from Western Asia to Mongolia, but has been overhunted in various places, causing its population to decrease, and in many areas it has already become extinct. It is 1 to 1.3 meters tall. Its body is pale yellow to reddish brown, with a yellowish-white underside. Its mane and tail are black, and it has a black line down the center of its back. Its summer fur is about 2 centimeters long, but its winter fur is about twice as long. It lives in herds on dry plains, eating grass during the day and sleeping in the shade of trees at night. It is said that the female is often the leader of the herd. The gestation period is about one year. Its lifespan in the wild is about 10 to 12 years, but there are cases of it being kept in captivity for 35 years.

[Iya Katsunori]

Subspecies and similar species

Asian wild asses are divided into six subspecies based on their distribution area:

(1) Anatolian wild ass E. h. anatoriensis This is an extinct subspecies that once lived in the Anatolia region of Turkey, but there are no detailed records of it.

(2) The Syrian wild ass , E. h. hemippus , was distributed in Syria, Iraq and northern Arabia but became extinct in 1927.

(3) Onager (E. h. onager) : This species was once found in Ukraine and the Caucasus region, but at the end of the 20th century, only 471 individuals remained on the plateau in northern Iran.

(4) E. h. kulan It is found in Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. In a 1998 survey, 2,400 individuals were reported.

(5) Chigetai (E. h. hemionus) Also known as the Przewalski's wild ass. A small number remain in Mongolia. There are also few examples of domestication. It is the largest subspecies of Asian wild ass, reaching a height of 1.3 meters and a weight of about 260 kilograms.

(6) Indian wild ass E. h. khur There are about 3,000 of them living in the arid zone of western India (1999). The wild ass in southwestern Pakistan is said to have become extinct in the 1960s.

The Tibetan Plateau kiang was once considered a subspecies of the Asian wild ass, but due to differences in the shape of the skull and teeth, it has often been classified as a separate species, E. kiang , since the 1980s. There are 60,000 to 70,000 inhabiting China and India, and a very small number have been confirmed to live in Pakistan.

[Iya Katsunori]

"World Animal Classification and Breeding 4: Perissodactyla, Tubulodonta, Hyracoidea, and Sirenia" edited by Yoshinori Imaizumi (1984, Tokyo Zoological Park Society)" ▽ "New Animal Chronicles Asahi Shimbun Sunday Edition 3" by the Asahi Shimbun Sunday Edition New Animal Chronicles Reporting Team (1990, Asahi Shimbun Co., Ltd.)

[Reference] | Donkey

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

哺乳(ほにゅう)綱奇蹄(きてい)目ウマ科の動物。ギリシア語で「野生のロバ」つまり野ロバを意味するオナガーの名でもよばれる。西アジアからモンゴルにかけて分布するが、各地で乱獲されて減少し、すでに絶滅してしまった地域も多い。体高1～1.3メートル。体は淡黄色から赤褐色で、下面は黄白色。たてがみと尾は黒色で、背中の中央に黒線がある。夏毛は2センチメートルくらいであるが、冬毛は約2倍に長くなる。乾燥した平原に群れですみ、日中は草を食べ、夜は木陰で眠る。群れのリーダーは雌のことが多いといわれている。妊娠期間は約1年。寿命は野生では10～12年ぐらいであるが、35年間飼育した例がある。

［祖谷勝紀］