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African wild ass

Equus africanus

TAXONOMY

Equus africanus Heuglin and Fitzinger, 1866, Atbara River, Sudan.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Somali wild ass, Nubian wild ass, Abyssinian wild ass; French: Ane sauvage; German: Wildesel.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Body length 78.7 in (200 cm); shoulder height 49.2 in (125 cm); weight 615 lb (280 kg). Is a medium-sized, long-eared, long-legged, hoofed ungulate, with a short shiny coat that is tan to gray in color with white belly and chest. The mane is erect, pale in color with a dark edge. The muzzle is white with gray between and around the nostrils and on the lips. There is a stripe down the back. The Somali subspecies, E. africanus somaliensis, has leg stripes and occasionally a shoulder stripe. The Nubian subspecies, E. africanus africanus, has a shoulder stripe, but no leg stripes.

DISTRIBUTION

Within the last 20 years its historic range has been reduced by more than 90%. They are currently found in low density in Eritrea and Ethiopia. Small populations may persist in Somalia and Sudan.

HABITAT

They live in extreme desert conditions (less than 7.8 in [less than 200 mm] of rainfall), mostly in the rift valley of the Horn

of Africa. They range from below sea level to approximately 2,000 ft (700 m). The substrate can vary from sandy soil to lava rock. Like all wild equids, they need to have access to water and it is estimated that during the dry season they stay within 18.6 mi (30 km) of permanent water sources.

BEHAVIOR

Lives in small temporary groups that are typically composed of fewer than five individuals. The only stable groups are composed of a female and her offspring. In temporary groups, the sex- and age-group structure varies from single-sex adult groups to mixed groups of males and females of all ages. Adult males typically are solitary, but on occasion associate with other males. Adult females were usually associated with their foal and/or yearling. Some adult males are territorial and only territorial males have been observed copulating with estrous females.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

They feed primarily on available grasses, but will also utilize browse.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Probably polygamous. Polyestrous, and most foals are born during the rainy season from October–February. A few females have produced foals every other year, but other females have surviving foals at longer inter-birth intervals. Females have not been observed to produce their first foal before the age of five years. Natality is strongly correlated with rainfall during the previous 12-month period. Gestation is approximately 12 months.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Critically Endangered, with a 90% reduction in range in the last 20 years. Major threats are hunting for food and medicine, potential competition for water and forage with domestic livestock, and possible interbreeding with domestic donkeys.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

In some areas where they occur, they are used for meat and medicine. In Eritrea, they are conserved by the local Afar pastoralists as an important part of the natural environment.

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WordNet: African wild ass

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a wild ass of Africa
Synonym: Equus asinus

Wikipedia: African Wild Ass

African Wild Ass

Somali Wild Ass (Equus asinus somalicus) in St. Louis Zoo

Conservation status

Critically endangered (IUCN)

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Perissodactyla
Family:	Equidae
Genus:	Equus
Subgenus:	Asinus
Species:	E. asinus

Binomial name

Equus asinus

Subspecies

E. a. africanus
E. a. somalicus

The African Wild Ass (Equus asinus) is a wild member of the horse family, Equidae. This species is believed to be the ancestor of the domestic donkey which is usually placed within the same species. The species name for the African Wild Ass is sometimes designated as, africanus. They live in the deserts and other arid areas of northeastern Africa, in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia; it formerly had a wider range north and west into Sudan, Egypt and Libya.

Description

The African Wild Ass is 2 m long and 1.25 - 1.45 m tall at the shoulders, with a tail 30-50 cm long. It weighs between 230-275 kg. The short, smooth coat is a light grey to fawn colour, fading quickly to white on the undersides and legs. There is a slender, dark dorsal stripe in all subspecies, while in the Nubian Wild Ass E. a. africanus, as well as the domestic donkey, there is a stripe across the shoulder. The legs of the Somali Wild Ass E. a. somalicus are horizontally striped with black, resembling those of a zebra. On the nape of the neck there is a stiff, upright mane, the hairs of which are tipped with black. The ears are large with black margins. The tail terminates with a black brush. The hooves are slender and approximately the diameter of the legs.

Habitat

African Wild Asses are well suited to life in a desert or semi-desert environment. They have tough digestive systems, which can break down desert vegetation and extract moisture from food efficiently. They can also go without water for a fairly long time. Their large ears give them an excellent sense of hearing and help in cooling. Because of the sparse vegetation in their environment wild asses live somewhat separated from each other (except for mothers and young), unlike the tightly grouped herds of wild horses. They have very loud voices, which can be heard for over 3 km (2 miles), which helps them to keep in contact with other asses over the wide spaces of the desert.

Behavior

The African Wild Ass is primarily active in the cooler hours between late afternoon and early morning, seeking shade and shelter amongst the rocky hills during the day. Swift and sure-footed in their rough, rocky habitat, the African wild ass has been clocked at 50 km/h (30 mph). Mature males defend large territories around 23 square kilometers in size, marking them with dung heaps - an essential marker in the flat, monotonous terrain. Due to the size of these ranges, the dominant male cannot exclude other males. Rather, intruders are tolerated - recognized and treated as subordinates, and kept as far away as possible from any of the resident females. In the presence of estrous females the males bray loudly. These animals live in loose herds of up to fifty individuals.

Wild asses can run swiftly, almost as fast as a horse. However, unlike most hoofed mammals, their tendency is to not to flee right away from a potentially dangerous situation, but to investigate first before deciding what to do. When they need to they can defend themselves with kicks from both their front and hind legs. They are nevertheless thought to be the ancestor of the modern domestic donkey. Equids were used in ancient Sumer to pull wagons circa 2600 BC, and then chariots on the Standard of Ur, circa 2000 BC. These have been suggested to represent onagers, but are now thought to have been domestic asses. (Clutton-Brock)

Diet

The African Wild Asses' diet consists of grasses, bark, and leaves. Despite being primarily adapted for living in an arid climate, African Wild Asses are dependent on water, and when not receiving the needed moisture from vegetation they must drink at least once every three days. However, they can survive on a surprisingly small amount of liquid, and have been reported to drink salty or brackish water.

Conservation Status

African wild asses have been captured for domestication for centuries and this, together with interbreeding between wild and domestic animals, has caused a distinct decline in population numbers. There are now only a few hundred individuals left in the wild and the species is under threat of extinction. These animals are hunted for food and for traditional medicine in both Ethiopia and Somalia, where recent civil unrest has led to an increased number of weapons in circulation. Competition with domestic livestock for grazing, and restricted access to water supplies caused by agricultural developments, pose further threats to the survival of this species. The African wild ass is legally protected in the countries within which it is currently found, although these measures often prove difficult to enforce. More effective protection measures need to be adopted if the status of this species is to improve. A protected population of the Somali wild ass exists in the Yotvata Hai-Bar Nature Reserve in Israel, to the north of Eilat. This reserve was established in 1968 with the view to bolster populations of endangered desert species. Populations of horses and asses are fairly resilient, and if the species is properly protected it may well recover from its current low.

References

Equid Specialist Group (1996). Equus africanus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 05 May 2006. Listed as Critically Endangered (CR A1b v2.3)
Arkive: African Wild Ass
Wild Equids
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Species Profile
Clutton-Brock, Juliet (1992). Horse Power: A History of the Horse and the Donkey in Human Societies. USA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674406469.