View source for Mongolian wild ass

{{distinguish2|other subspecies / ecotypes of Asiatic Wild asses like the Persian onager, Indian khur, or Turkmen kulan}}
{{Taxobox
| status = NT
| status_system = IUCN
| status_ref= <ref name=iucn>{{IUCN |assessor= Kaczensky, P. |assessor2= Lkhagvasuren, B. |assessor3= Pereladova, O. |assessor4= Hemami, M. |assessor5= Bouskila, A. |last-assessor-amp= yes|year= 2015|id= 7952|title= Equus hemionus ssp. hemionus|downloaded= 10 Jan 2016|version=2015.2}}</ref>
| image = 3 khulan am Wasser Abend.jpg
| image_caption = Mongolian wild asses in the [[Gobi Desert]], [[Mongolia]].
| name = Mongolian wild ass
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Mammal]]ia
| ordo = [[Odd-toed ungulate|Perissodactyla]]
| familia = [[Equidae]]
| genus = ''[[Equus (genus)|Equus]]''
| species = ''[[Onager|E. hemionus]]''
| subspecies = '''''E. h. hemionus'''''
| trinomial = ''Equus hemionus hemionus''
| trinomial_authority = [[Peter Simon Pallas|Pallas]], 1775
| synonyms = 
''Equus (Asinus) hemionus bedfordi'' Matschie 1911 {{Break}}
''Equus (Asinus) hemionus findschi'' Matschie 1911 {{Break}}
''Equus (Asinus) hemionus luteus'' Matschie 1911 {{Break}}
| synonyms_ref = <ref>{{Grove and Grubb|15}}</ref>
}}
The '''Mongolian wild ass''' (''Equus hemionus hemionus''), also known as '''Mongolian khulan''' is found in Southern [[Mongolia]] and northern [[China]], and was previously found in eastern [[Kazakhstan]] and southern [[Siberian Federal District|Siberia]] before being extirpated there through [[hunting]].<ref>Clark, B. and Duncan, P. (1992). "Asian Wild Asses - Hemiones and Kiangs (''E. hemionus'' Pallas and ''E. kiang'' Moorcroft)", pp. 17–21. In: P. Duncan (ed.) ''Zebras, Asses, and Horses: An Action Plan for the Conservation of Wild Equids''. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN/SSC Equid Specialist Group.</ref> Current population estimates are ~42,000 individuals for Mongolia and ~5,000 individuals in Northern China.

==Taxonomy and etymology==
The Mongolian wild ass is synonymous with the '''Gobi khulan''' (''Equus hemionus luteus''),<ref name=iucn/> also called the ''chigetai'', '''dziggetai''' or simply '''''{{transl|mn|khulan}}''''', {{lang-mn|Хулан}}.<ref name=mason>{{cite book|editor-last=Porter|editor-first=Valerie|title=Mason's World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types, and Varieties|year=2002|publisher=CABI|location=Wallingford|isbn=085199430X|edition=5th|author=Ian Lauder Mason}}</ref>

==Habitat and population==
[[File:Mongolie hémione.jpg|left|thumb|A Mongolian khulan at [[Gobi Desert]], [[Mongolia]].]]
The Mongolian wild ass lives has become primarely confined to the desert-steppe, semi-dessert and [[desert]]s habitats of [[Gobi Desert]].

The Mongolian wild ass is the most widespread subspecies, although despite that, the subspecies lost about 50% of its former distribution range in Mongolia in the past 70 years. The former range of the Asiatic wild ass in East Asia between the seventeenth and the middle of the nineteenth century encompassed the greater part of Mongolia, areas of Siberia and [[Manchuria]], the western part of [[Inner Mongolia]] and the northern part of [[Xinjiang]]. Its [[Range (biology)|distribution range]] then dramatically reduced during the 1990s. A 1994–1997 survey estimated its [[population size]] at 33,000 to 63,000 individuals over a continuous distribution range encompassing all of southern Mongolia.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=[[Journal of Zoology]] |year=2001 |volume=254 |issue=3 |pages=381–389 |doi=10.1017/S0952836901000887 |title=Status and distribution of khulan (''Equus hemionus'') in Mongolia |author=Richard P. Reading |author2=Henry M. Mix |author3=Badamjaviin Lhagvasuren |author4=Claudia Feh |author5=David P. Kane |author6=S. Dulamtseren |author7=Sumyain Enkhbold |last-author-amp=yes}}</ref> In 2003, a new survey found approximately 20,000 individuals over an area of {{convert|177563|km2}} in southern Mongolia.<ref>Mongolian Ministry of Nature and Environment. 2003. Status and distribution of the khulan in Mongolia in 2003. Unpublished report, Mongolian Ministry of Nature and Environment, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia</ref> The species had decreased to 14,000 individuals in 2009. The population estimates of the Mongolian population should be treated with caution due to a lack of proven survey protocols.<ref>{{cite book |editor=S. T. Buckland |editor2=D. R. Anderson |editor3=K. P. Burnham |editor4=J. L. Laake |editor5=D. L. Borchers |editor6=L. Thomas |year=2001 |title=Introduction to Distance Sampling. Estimating Abundance of Biological Populations |pages=432 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=[[Oxford]], UK |isbn=9780198509271}}</ref><ref>Kaczensky P. and C. Walzer. 2002a, 2002b, 2003a, 2003b. Przewalski horses, wolves and khulans in Mongolia. Bi-annual progress reports. available from: www.takhi.org</ref>

==Biology and behavior==
The Mongolian wild ass are herbivorous mammals. They feed on [[grass]]es, [[herb]]s and [[vegetation]]. They also feed on shrubs and trees in drier habitats. During spring and summer in Mongolia, the succulent plants of the [[Zygophyllaceae]] family form an important component of the diet of the Mongolian wild ass.

Mongolian khulans are known to dig holes at dry river beds and water sources to access to subsurface water to drink in response of the lack of water during hot summers in the Gobi Desert. Watering holes dug by khulans are also used by other species (wild and domestic) as well as by humans to access to water.<ref>Anne-Camille SOURIS & Association Goviin Khulan http://www.goviinkhulan.com, http://annecamille-souris.jimdo.com/work/</ref>

==Threats==
The Mongolian wild ass population is declining due to [[poaching]] and [[competition]] from grazing [[livestock]]. The [[conservation status]] of the species is evaluated as [[Endangered species|endangered]].<ref name=iucn/>

The Mongolian khulan are threatened by apex predators such as [[gray wolves]], [[dhole]]s and formerly by [[tiger]]s that became extinct within the regions.

Poaching for meat appears to be an increasing problem in Mongolia. For some parts of the local population, wild ass and other wildlife meat seems to provide a substitute or even a cheap alternative to meat from domestic animals.<ref>P. Kaczensky & O. Gambatar unpubl. Data</ref> In 2005, a national survey based on [[questionnaire]]s, suggested that as many as 4,500 wild asses, about 20% of the whole population, may be poached each year.<ref>J. Wingard unpubl. data</ref> Moreover, political changes in the early 1990s allowed urban populations to return to [[Nomad|nomadic land use]], resulting in a sharp increase in human and livestock numbers in many rural areas.<ref>{{cite journal |author=María E. Fernández-Giménez |year=1999 |title=Sustaining the steppes: a geographical history of pastoral land use in Mongolia |journal=[[Geographical Review]] |volume=89 |issue=3 |pages=315–342 |jstor=216154 |doi=10.1111/j.1931-0846.1999.tb00222.x}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Donald J. Bedunah  |author2=Sabine M. Schmidt  |lastauthoramp=yes |year=2004 |title=Pastoralism and protected area management in Mongolia's Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park |journal=[[Development and Change]] |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=167–191 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-7660.2004.00347.x}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=R. Mearns |author2=D. Shombodon |author3=G. Narangerel |author4= U. Tuul |author5=A. Enkhamgalan |author6=B. Myagmarzhav |author7=A. Bayanjargal |author8=B. Bekhsuren |last-author-amp=yes |year=1994 |url=http://dlcvm.dlib.indiana.edu/archive/00005217/01/natural_resource_mapping_and_seasonal_variations.pdf |title=Natural resource mapping and seasonal variations and stresses in Mongolia |journal=[[RRA Notes]] |volume=20 |pages=95–105}}</ref>

Political and societal changes have disrupted traditional land use patterns, weakened law enforcement and also changed attitudes towards the use of natural resources, e.g., making wildlife an "open access" resource.<ref>{{cite journal |author=D. G. Pratt |author2=D. C. MacMillan |author3=I. J. Gordon |last-author-amp=yes |year=2004 |title=Local community attitudes to wildlife utilisation in the changing economic and social context of Mongolia |journal=[[Biodiversity and Conservation]] |volume=13 |pages=591–613 |doi=10.1023/B:BIOC.0000009492.56373.cc}}</ref> It is expected that the re-migration of people and their livestock will result in increased wildlife–human interactions and may well threaten the survival of rare wildlife species in the [[Gobi Desert]].

==Conservation actions==
[[File:Shanghai Zoo - Mongolian wild ass.jpg|thumb|right|A Mongolian wild ass at [[Shanghai Zoo]], [[China]].]]
Since 1953, the Mongolian wild ass has been fully protected in Mongolia. The subspecies is also listed at appendix I of [[CITES]] (the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) and was added to appendix II of the Convention of Migratory Species in 2002.<ref>[http://www.cms.int/documents/appendix/cms_app2.htm CMS 2002. Convention on Migratory Species. Appendix II.]</ref> However, due to human population growth in conjunction with severe winters in the past years,<ref>United Nations Disaster Management Team (UNDMT): National Civil Defense and State Emergency Commission Ulaanbaatar. 2000. DZUD 2000-Mongolia: An evolving ecological, social and economic disaster: A rapid needs assessment report. United Nations Disaster Management Team (UNDMT): National Civil Defense and State Emergency Commission Ulaanbaatar</ref> the number of conflicts between [[herder]]s and Mongolian wild asses appear on the increase.  Information on the basic biology of the subspecies and how it differs from others is lacking, which hampers conservation efforts.<ref name="SSC">{{cite web |url= http://data.iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/equid/ASWAss.html |title=Asiatic Wild Ass &nbsp; ''Equus hemionus'' |work=IUCN.org |publisher=IUCN/SSC Equid Specialist Group}}</ref>

==In captivity==
The Mongolian wild asses are rare in captivity in the world, though the captive animals are mostly found in China, such as in [[Beijing zoo]], [[Shanghai zoo]] and Kunming zoo at [[Yunnan]].

==Related subspecies==
* [[Turkmenian kulan]], ''Equus hemionus kulan''
* [[Persian onager]] (''gur''), ''Equus hemionus onager''
* [[Indian wild ass]] (''khur''), ''Equus hemionus khur''
* [[Syrian wild ass]] or hemippe, ''Equus hemionus hemippus'' ([[Extinction|extinct]])

==See also==
* [[Kiang]] or, Tibetan wild ass
* [[Mongolian horse]]
* [[Przewalski's Horse|Takhi]]
* [[Horses in East Asian warfare]]
* [[Yakutian horse]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Equus}}
{{taxonbar}}

[[Category:Equus]]
[[Category:Animals described in 1775]]
[[Category:Megafauna of North Asia]]
[[Category:Fauna of East Asia]]
[[Category:Mammals of Mongolia]]
[[Category:Mammals of China]]
[[Category:Mammals of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Mammals of Siberia]]