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
Set animal I and Seti II and the Twentieth Dynasty king Setnakhte and his descendants. The god Set was usually depicted as a man with a head resembling that of the sha, usually with a long, slightly curved nose, and erect ears, squared at the tops. Occasionally he was represented in animal form as the sha itself, although he was also depicted in the form of an onager or as a black pig. Other animals sacred to Set included the antelope, hippopotamus, wild boar, crocodile, and scorpion, all of which represented strength, power, protection, or wildness. The sha was also used as