Onager (their status in China is not well known). Persian onagers are currently being reintroduced in the Middle East as replacements for the extinct Syrian wild ass in the Arabian Peninsula, Israel and Jordan. The specific name is Ancient Greek ἡμίονος ("hēmíonos"), from ἡμι- (hēmi-), half, and ὄνος (ónos), donkey; thus, half-donkey or mule. In Persian the archaic word "gur" preserves the second syllable of the common Indo-European term that includes "ona"/"ono" (donkey) and "ger"/"gur" (swift). The species was commonly known as Asian wild ass, in which case the term "onager" was reserved for the "E. h. onager" subspecies, more specifically
Pack animal Pack animal A pack animal or beast of burden is an individual or type of working animal used by humans as means of transporting materials by attaching them so their weight bears on the animal's back, in contrast to draft animals which pull loads but do not carry them. Traditional pack animals are diverse including camels, goats, yaks, reindeer, water buffaloes, and llamas as well as the more familiar pack animals like horses, donkeys and mules. The term "pack animal" is traditionally used in contrast to "draft animal", which is a working animal that typically pulls a load behind itself