Description: The African wild ass (Equus asinus somalicus) is a subspecies of donkey (Equus asinus). The African wild ass grows to 125cm-145cm (4.2ft-5.5ft) at the shoulder and has a light grey to fawn color coat of short, sleek fur. The have large head, long ears, and their tail resembles that of a cow, with a tuft of longer black fur at the end.
Their mane runs along the nape of their neck is stiff and stands upright. Their lower legs have horizontal stripes of black or dark brown and the edges of their ears are trimmed in darker fur (Source: Huffman).
Classification:
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Mammalia
- Order: Perissodactyla
- Family: Equidae
- Genus: Equus
- Species: Equus asinus somalicus (Source: Huggins)
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Habitat: Original habitat was deserts, semideserts, grasslands, and low scrubland. Now inhabits many different habitats due to domestication and establishment of feral populations (Source: Huggins).
Range: Their natural range includes Northern Africa and the Arabian peninsula (Source: Huffman).
Diet: Herbivorous. Grasses and shrubs (Source: Huggins).
Sources:
- Burnie, D. and D.E. Wilson. Animal. Dorling Kindersley. London. 2001.
- Huggins, B. 2002. 'Equus asinus' (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed February 6, 2006.
- Huffman B. 2004. 'African Wild Ass' (On-line), The Ultimate Ungulate. Accessed February 6, 2006.
