The Onager (Equus hemionus), also known as Asiatic wild ass, used to occur throughout much of the W Palearctic, with the exception of North Africa and northern Europe. Two subspecies, both now extinct, occured in the region: the European wild ass (E. h. hydruntinus) in Europe and Anatolia, east to Iran, and the Syrian Wild Ass (E. h. hemippus) in the Middle East. Wild ass currently occur in less than 1% of their original range in our region and all populations are the result of reintroductions.
Small wild populations of different subspecies have been reintroduced into Israel, Jordan and Saudi-Arabia.
Rewilding Europe is currently in the process of reintroducing Kulan to the Danube delta in Ukraine.
Status in w palearctic | 1% or less of original range |
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Ecological niche | Large Herbivore |
Region | Europe - Caucasus, Europe - Central, Europe - Eastern, Europe - Iberia, Europe - Italy, Europe - Southeastern, Europe - Western, Middle East - Anatolia, Middle East - Arabia, Middle East - Levant |
Z ecotourism potential | 3 |