Critically Endangered: The African Wild Ass

The African Wild Ass may leave you confused as to the differences between an ass and the domesticated donkey as the two look very similar, but rest assured that the similarities between these two are no coincidence – a majority of the domesticated donkeys that you can see throughout Africa will probably share DNA with these hardy creatures at some point in their genetic line.

This is thanks to the wild ass being well suited for life in the desert or a semi desert environment, with tough digestive systems that can break down the tough desert vegetation and extract moisture very efficiently from their food – couple this with a reduced requirement for water and you have an animal with the perfect breeding for life in the desert. This is why we can see so many hardy donkeys and mules being used in everyday life in the African desert, as many will have been bred from domesticated donkeys that have mated with these wild asses to generate these preferred characteristics that enhance the donkeys natural abilities.

Unfortunately, this mating has meant that the wild ass genetic line has become diluted over time, meaning that despite a lot of mixed young being born, a reduced number of true Wild Asses have been produced, leading to a prolonged decline in the species. Thanks to the sparse spread of food and water sources in the desert, the Wild Ass cannot live in large herds like other species of wild horse as the ecosystem simply cannot support them. The intermittent herd system that is used instead means that small groups of wild ass can be found across a large area, keeping in contact by braying – their brays can be heard up to distances of 3km so they have a fairly large range and can still be in contact with others.

Around 570 individuals exist in the wild and whilst this would normally be cause for concern there are hopes that the efforts that have been made to help this durable species will be enough to prolong its survival and ensure the return and successful repopulation in Africa. A reserve that has been established in Somalia and if the wild ass that exist there are properly protected it is hoped that they may well recover from their current low.