Persian onager the Asiatic wild ass is known simply as onager, it now also serves as the Persian wild ass's scientific name, as well ("Equus hemionus onager"). Information on the basic biology of the subspecies and how it differs from others is lacking, which hampers conservation efforts. Onagers used to be numerous from the Middle East to China. However, until the 19th century, their population has been reduced from several thousand to a few thousand. Currently, more than 600 Persian onagers are living in the wild. Persian wild asses are known to inhabit mountain steppes, semidesert, or desert plains. They are usually
Onager Persian onager alone has been reintroduced to Jordan and the deserts of Saudi Arabia. Onagers are notoriously untamable. Equids were used in ancient Sumer to pull wagons "circa" 2600 BC, and then chariots on the Standard of Ur, "circa" 2550 BC. Clutton-Brock (1992) suggests that these were donkeys rather than onagers on the basis of a "shoulder stripe". However, close examination of the animals (equids, sheep and cattle) on both sides of the piece indicate that what appears to be a stripe may well be a harness, a trapping, or a joint in the inlay. Onager The onager (; "Equus