Onager
Equus hemionus
🦓
Chordata
Mammalia
Perissodactyla
Equoidea
Equidae
Equus
Equus hemionus
The Asiatic Wild Ass, Equus hemionus, is a swift, desert-dwelling equid built for survival in some of the harshest environments on Earth. Once roaming from the Arabian Peninsula to northern China, it remains one of the few truly wild horse species still existing today.
Description
Equus hemionus occupies arid plains, deserts, and steppes across Central Asia, with remnant populations in Iran, Mongolia, India, and China. It is smaller and lighter than the true horse but faster and more enduring, capable of reaching 70 km/h in short bursts. Its coat changes with the seasons—from pale sandy beige in summer to thicker grayish fur in winter—and it bears a distinct dark dorsal stripe. Unlike domestic horses, onagers are notoriously untamable, fiercely independent, and adapted to survive long periods without water, obtaining moisture from desert vegetation.
Quick Facts
Max Mass
Shoulder Height
Standing Height
Length
Diet
Trophic Level
200
1.4
2.1
2.4
kg
m
m
m
Mixed Feeder
Omnivores – Balanced
Hunt History
Humans have hunted the Asiatic Wild Ass since the Pleistocene, both for meat and hides. In prehistoric Central Asia, rock carvings depict organized drives where hunters on foot or horseback herded onagers into traps or enclosed valleys. As human populations expanded and the horse was domesticated, onagers lost habitat and were hunted competitively for food and prestige.
Archaeological Evidence:
Göbekli Tepe, Turkey — early Holocene carvings of wild asses alongside aurochs and gazelle, indicating symbolic and subsistence value (~10,000 BP).
Ustyurt Plateau, Kazakhstan — Bronze Age butchery sites containing Equus hemionus bones with cut marks (~4,000 BP).
Altai Mountains, Mongolia — Pleistocene deposits of onager remains in association with human tools (~20,000 BP).
Time & Range
Extinction Status
Regionally Extinct
Extinction Date
Temporal Range
Region
10000
BP
Late Pleistocene
Europe
Wiki Link
Fat Analysis
Fatness Profile:
Medium
Fat %
5
Est. Renderable Fat
10
kg
Targeted Organs
Visceral & subcutaneous
Adipose Depots
Visceral/subcutaneous (general)
Preferred Cuts
Visceral depot
Hunt Difficulty (x/5)
3