Wild Asses as Endangered Species

Newsdate: Tue, 10 May 2011 - 11:55 am
Location: VIENNA, Austria

New research suggests that wild asses are in danger of extinction through hunting and habitat destruction. Through data gathered by radio transmitter tags, researchers find that the animals are unable or unwilling to cross man-made barriers such as the Ulaanbaatar-Beijing railway line. 

This, in effect, cuts off about 17,000 square kilometres of suitable habitat for the asses.

The difficulties faced by the wild ass have been researched by a team led by Chris Walzer, at the Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, in Vienna.

The results are published in the current issue of the journal, Biological Conservation.

Walzer noted that considerable attention is being paid to the conservation of migratory birds, as such species may face threats not only in their breeding and wintering areas but en route between them.

"But many mammals are also migratory and, because most of them are unable to fly, they face a number of additional challenges to survive," Walzer says.

Wild asses which are descendants of the original ancestors of the horse and the donkey  are now in danger of extinction, largely as a direct result of human activities such as hunting and habitat destruction.

Walzer's group has been working with colleagues in Germany, China and Mongolia on the plight of the Asiatic wild ass, which is currently restricted to areas in Mongolia, China, India, Iran and Turkmenistan, although it was formerly much more widespread.

The researchers considered the factors responsible for the decline of the species, hoping to develop measures to ensure its future survival.

The Gobi Desert in Mongolia represents one of the most important refuges for several endangered species.

Petra Kaczensky, a member of Walzer's group, examined the distribution of wild asses in the Mongolian Gobi and observed that the species occurs only in areas where the average production of biomass is below 250 grams of carbon per square metre per year (gC/m2/year).

It clearly used to be found also in more productive regions but these are now too heavily used by people for grazing livestock. Wild asses are either chased away or killed to prevent them from competing with domestic animals for the limited food and water.

Even the hardy wild ass requires some food and water to survive in the steppe and desert, so areas that produce below 100 gC/m2/year cannot be used.

As a consequence, the species is gradually being forced into habitats that are barely able to support it.

Animals that live in unproductive areas are frequently nomadic and the Asiatic wild ass is no exception.

Walzer's group fitted radiotransmitters to nearly 20 asses and monitored the animals' movements until the transmitters fell off, as they were designed to.

The results confirmed that individual animals range widely and showed that they avoided hilly or mountainous regions.

The mountains that transect the species' distribution in Mongolia thus represent a barrier to movement and the scientists used sophisticated genetic experiments to prove that the populations on either side of the mountains are essentially isolated from each other.

Encouragingly for conservation efforts, they could find no evidence of a recent genetic bottleneck and the species showed a relatively high level of genetic diversity, both within and between the two subpopulations.

More worryingly, however, the radiotransmitter data showed that the animals were unable or unwilling to cross man-made barriers such as the Ulaanbaatar-Beijing railway line, which cut off a vast area of suitable habitat.

They noted that the border fence between Mongolia and China, which has been constructed and upgraded since the 1970s, now essentially separates the asses on the two sides.

The researchers said the wild ass in the Gobi would benefit from a co-ordinated, multinational conservation strategy.

Walzer says: "Opening the border fence, at least in places, would not only help the Asiatic wild ass but would also be likely to benefit other rare mammals, such as Bactrian camels and re-introduced Przewalski's horses."


 

About the Author

Flossie Sellers

Author picture

As an animal lover since childhood, Flossie was delighted when Mark, the CEO and developer of EquiMed asked her to join his team of contributors.

She enrolled in My Horse University at Michigan State and completed a number of courses in everything related to horse health, nutrition, diseases and conditions, medications, hoof and dental care, barn safety, and first aid.

Staying up-to-date on the latest developments in horse care and equine health is now a habit, and she enjoys sharing a wealth of information with horse owners everywhere.

Subscribe