African Wild Ass
Equus africanus
🐴
Chordata
Mammalia
Perissodactyla
Equoidea
Equidae
Equus
Equus africanus
The Desert Survivor — Equus africanus, the African Wild Ass, is the hardy ancestor of the domestic donkey. Native to the arid regions of the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea Hills, it is a master of survival, capable of enduring heat and drought that would fell most other mammals.
Description
This graceful, short-maned equid is characterized by a pale gray coat with a white belly, dark horizontal stripes on its legs, and a narrow dorsal stripe running down its back. It stands around 1.25 meters at the shoulder and about 2.1 meters long. The African Wild Ass inhabits some of the harshest landscapes on Earth — the deserts of Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somaliland — where water may be absent for days or even weeks. Its remarkable hooves and efficient kidneys are evolutionary testaments to drought adaptation.
Quick Facts
Max Mass
Shoulder Height
Standing Height
Length
Diet
Trophic Level
275
1.4
2.1
2.5
kg
m
m
m
Mixed Feeder
Omnivores – Balanced
Hunt History
Humans have hunted Equus africanus for millennia — for meat, hides, and later for capture and domestication. The earliest herders of the Nile Valley and Horn of Africa selectively tamed these animals around 5,000 BCE, producing the domestic donkey (Equus africanus asinus). Wild populations dwindled as pastoralism spread, and overhunting for food and competition with livestock drove them to remote refuges.
Archaeological Evidence of Human Predation and Domestication:
Nabta Playa, Egypt — c. 5000 BCE: remains of early domesticated donkeys linked to E. africanus ancestors.
Tadjoura, Djibouti — c. 3000 BCE: hunting site with butchered wild ass bones.
Afar Depression, Ethiopia — c. 1500 BCE: evidence of coexistence between wild and domesticated donkeys, showing ongoing exploitation.
Time & Range
Extinction Status
Extant
Extinction Date
Temporal Range
Region
0
BP
Late Pleistocene
Africa
Wiki Link
Fat Analysis
Fatness Profile:
Medium
Fat %
5
Est. Renderable Fat
13.8
kg
Targeted Organs
Visceral & subcutaneous
Adipose Depots
Visceral/subcutaneous (general)
Preferred Cuts
Visceral depot
Hunt Difficulty (x/5)
3