Persian onager Persian Onager foals at the Wilds conservation center in Southeastern Ohio, in collaboration with experts from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. Since 2003, Persian onagers have been introduced in Saudi Arabia, where the Syrian wild ass once lived. Introduced Persian onagers live in deserts foraging on grasses and branches or woodier plant material in dry seasons. In 1968, 11 Persian and Turkmenian onagers were flown from their countries to Israel in exchange for Israeli gazelles. These were bred in captivity at the Hai Bar Yotvata wildlife sanctuary. Together, they bred a few Persian/Turkmenian hybrids in Israel. Offspring were introduced into
Animal studies and to understand animals as beings-in-themselves, separate from our knowledge of them. Because the field is still developing, scholars and others have some freedom to define their own criteria about what issues may structure the field. As an interdisciplinary subject, animal studies exists at the intersection of a number of different fields of study. Different fields began to turn to animals as an important topic at different times and for various reasons, and these separate disciplinary histories shape how scholars approach animal studies. In part, animal studies developed out of the animal liberation movement and was grounded in ethical questions