Indian Wild Ass

Taxobox
name = Indian Wild Ass


image_caption = Indian Wild Ass, "Equus hemionus khur"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
ordo = Perissodactyla
familia = Equidae
genus = Equus
subgenus = Asinus
subspecies = Hemionus

The Indian wild ass ("Equus hemionus khur") also called khur, is a subspecies of wild asses native to southern Asia.

Description

The Indian wild ass, as with most other Asian wild ass species, is quite different from the African species. The coat is usually sandy, but varies from reddish grey, fawn, to pale chestnut. The animal possesses an erect, dark mane which runs from the back of the head and along the neck. The mane is then followed by a dark brown stripe running along the back, to the root of the tail.

Range/Habitat

The Indian wild ass's range once extended from western India, through Sind and Baluchistan, Afghanistan, and south-eastern Iran. Today, its last refuge lies in the little Rann of Kutch and its surrounding areas of the Greater Rann of Kutch in the Gujarat province. The animal, however, is also seen in the districts of Surendranagar, Banaskantha, Mehsana, and other Kutch districts. Saline desert, grassland in arid zone and shrubland are its preferred homeland.

Biology/Behavior

Wild ass graze between dawn and dusk. The animal feeds on grass, leaves and fruits of plant, crop, "Prosopis" pods, and saline vegetation. It is one of the fastest of Indian animals, with speeds clocked at about 50 km. per hour. Stallions live either solitarily, or in small groups of twos and threes while family herds remain large. Mating season is in rainy season. When a mare comes into heat, she separates from the herd with a stallion who battles against rivals for her possession. After few days, the pair returns to the herd. The mare gives birth to one foal. The male foal weans away by 1-2 years of age, while the female continues to stay with the family herd.

Threats/Conservation

It is unknown how the Indian wild ass disappeared from its former haunts in parts of western India and Pakistan, since the animal was never a hunting target of maharajas and British officials. However, from 1958-1960, the wild ass became a victim of a disease known as "surra", caused by Trypanosoma evansi and transmitted by flies, which caused a dramatic decline of its population in India. In November and December 1961, the wild ass population was reduced to just 870 after to the outbreak of South African Horse Sickness. Besides disease, the ass's other threats include habitat degradation due to salt activities, the invasion of the "Prosopis juliflora" shrub, and encroachment and grazing by the Maldhari people. Recent conservation efforts since 1969 have helped boost the animal's population to 2000.

ee also

* Onager
* Asinus

External links

* [http://www.wildlifetimes.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=210 Wildlife Times: Indian Wild Ass - Equus hemionus khur]