Onager

The Onager (Equus hemionus) is a large mammal belonging to the genus Equus of the family Equidae (horse family) and native to the deserts of Syria, Iran, Pakistan, India, Israel, and Tibet. It is sometimes known as the Asian Wild Ass.

Like many other large grazing animals, its range has contracted greatly under the pressures of hunting and habitat loss, and of the six subspecies, one is extinct and two endangered. The Kiang (E. kiang), a Tibetan relative, was previously considered to be a subspecies of the Onager as E. hemionus kiang, but recent molecular studies indicate that it is a distinct species.

The specific name is Ancient Greek ἡμίονος (hēmíonos), from ἡμι- (hēmi-), half, and ὄνος (ónos), donkey; thus, half-donkey or mule.

Onagers are a little larger than donkeys at about 290 kilograms (639 lb) and 2.1 metres (6.9 ft) (head-body length), and are a little more horse-like. They are short-legged compared to horses, and their coloring varies depending on the season. They are generally reddish-brown in color during the summer, becoming yellowish-brown in the winter months. They have a black stripe bordered in white that extends down the middle of the back. They are notoriously untameable. Equids were used in ancient Sumer to pull wagons circa 2600 BC, and then chariots on the Standard of Ur, circa 2000 BC. Clutton-Brock suggested that these were donkeys rather than onagers on the basis of a "shoulder stripe" (1992:88). However, close examination of the animals (equids, sheep, and cattle) on both sides of the piece indicate that what appears to be a stripe may well be harness, trapping, or a join in the inlay. For Sumerian references to onagers, see Heimpel (1968) and Maekawa (1979).

Subspecies

Mongolian Wild Ass, Equus hemionus hemionus
Turkmenian Kulan, Equus hemionus kulan
Persian Onager, Equus hemionus onager
Indian Wild Ass or Khur, Equus hemionus khur
Syrian Wild Ass, Equus hemionus hemippus (extinct)

Translation

The word "Onager" occurs as such in the following languages: English, Danish, Hungarian.

Translation(s) in other languages: Arabic: أخدر, Aragonese: Onagre, Breton: Azen gouez Azia, Bulgarian: Кулан, Catalan: Hemió, Czech: Osel asijský, German: Asiatischer Esel, Spanish: Equus hemionus, Esperanto: Hemiono, Persian: گورخر ایرانی, French: Hémione, Korean: 아시아당나귀, Icelandic: Gresjuhestur, Italian: Equus hemionus, Hebrew: פרא, Latvian: Āzijas savvaļas ēzelis, Lithuanian: Kulanas, Dutch: Onager (ezelsoort), Japanese: アジアノロバ, Norwegian (Bokmål): Asiatisk villesel, Polish: Osioł azjatycki, Portuguese: Hemíono, Russian: Кулан, Finnish: Aasialainen villiaasi, Swedish: Halvåsna, Turkish: Asya yaban eşeği, Ukrainian: Кулан, Vietnamese: Lừa rừng Trung Á, Chinese: 波斯野驴.