Somali wild ass
| Somali wild ass | ||||||||||||
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Somali wild ass |
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| Equus asinus somaliensis | ||||||||||||
| ( Noack , 1884) |
The Somali wild ass ( Equus asinus somaliensis even Equus africanus somaliensis or Asinus africanus somaliensis ) is a highly endangered subspecies of the African ass ( Equus asinus ).
Appearance
The color of the fur of the Somali wild ass varies between gray, yellowish or reddish. They have a black eel line on their backs along the spine . The physique is slim and elegant. The black and white striped legs are long and slender and have hard hooves. The ears are pointed towards the end. The belly is white. The shoulder height of the animals is between 110 to 140 centimeters. The length of the tail is up to 42 centimeters. The weight of the adult individual animals is between 250 and 280 kilograms. With the help of their good hearing, they can recognize most predators from a great distance.
Head of the Somali wild ass
The black and white striped legs of the Somali wild ass
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distribution and habitat
The Somali wild ass is found only in western Ethiopia and Somalia . He inhabits the rocky semi-deserts and deserts there . In the Danakilebene comes another subspecies, the Danakil ass ( Equus asinus taeniopus ) ago. It is controversial whether this is another subspecies or whether it is a cross between the Somali wild ass and house donkey .
Way of life
The herds with an individual number of 10 to 15 animals are led by a dominant female. The male conspecifics live as solitary animals except during the reproductive period. These shy animals roam their designated territory in search of food and water. The Somali wild ass feeds on thorny and hard grass, buds and leaves of bushes. They usually prey on their natural enemies, especially big cats , at or near water holes, which they have to visit at regular intervals to drink. Your only protection is a quick escape. Life expectancy is between 20 and 40 years.
Reproduction
The gestation period is 12 months. As a rule, only one young animal is born; it can move on with the herd only one hour after birth. The lactation period is about 1 year. The young animal already eats solid food at the age of 2 months. The Somali wild ass reaches sexual maturity at the age of 3 to 4 years.
Hazard and protection
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Humans hunt the Somali wild ass for its meat and fur. Since the 1970s, this species has been observed less and less in its natural habitat. The world population in 1970 was around 1500 wild specimens. The reasons for this are droughts , wars and mating with house urchins. The first breeding in zoos took place in 1970 at Basel Zoo . This species is now in zoological facilities such as the zoo Chemnitz , Liberec Zoo held and others and bred successfully.
literature
- Rare animals page 40,41 Unipart Verlag GmbH Remseck near Stuttgart 1992 ISBN 3-8122-3077-1
- Rare and threatened animals The colored encyclopedia Page: 58 Gondrom Verlag GmbH, Bindlach 2001 ISBN 3-8112-1830-1
- Endangered animals Page: 74 Verlag Werner Dausien Hanau 1998 ISBN 3-7684-2800-1
- Wildlife of Africa in color Page: 220 Publisher: Karl Müller Verlag Erlangen 1989
- The colorful lexicon of animals Page: 116 Publisher: FX Schmid GmbH 2013 ISBN 978-3-8380-2035-8
- Wilhelm Eigner Encyclopedia of Animals Volume 2 Page: 474 Weltbild Verlag 1999 ISBN 3-89350-361-7
- Encyclopedia of Mammals Page: 176,177 Weltbild Verlag Augsburg 1999 ISBN 3-8289-1556-6
Individual evidence
- ↑ African wildlife in color. Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1989, p. 220.
Web links
- Equus africanus ssp. somaliensis inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019.3. Posted by: Moehlman, PD, Kebede, F. & Yohannes, H., 2014. Accessed February 5, 2020.