Onager a subspecies of the onager as "E. hemionus kiang", but recent molecular studies indicate it to be a distinct species, having diverged from the closest relative of the Mongolian wild ass's ancestor less than 500,000 years ago. Widely five recognized subspecies of the onager include: A sixth possible subspecies, the Gobi khulan ("E. h. luteus", also called the "chigetai" or "dziggetai") has been proposed, but may be synonymous with "E. h. hemionus". Debates over the taxonomic identity of the onager occurred until 1980. As of today, four living subspecies and one extinct subspecies of the Asiatic wild ass have been
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