Onager

About this species

Size

Head and body 2.1–2.5m

Weight

200–260kg

Habitat

Salt desert, arid grassland and scrub; in India the Little and Great Rann of Kutch

Range

In India only in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat (the Indian wild ass or khur)

Gestation

About 11 months

The onager, or Asiatic wild ass, is a lightly built wild horse relative. In India it is represented by the Indian wild ass, known locally as the khur. The coat is reddish-brown in summer, turning yellowish or greyish-brown in winter, with a white belly, rump and muzzle, and a dark stripe bordered with white runs along the middle of the back. It is one of the fastest land mammals, able to run at 64–70 km/h over open flats (Wikipedia, general species account).

In the south of its range, including India, the onager lives in partly overlapping territories rather than wandering herds: dominant stallions hold areas of around 9 km² or more that include feeding and resting places and a water source, while mares with foals gather in small groups over larger areas. Breeding is seasonal, and in India mating takes place in the rainy season. Foals are born after about 11 months and can stand and suckle within 15 to 20 minutes of birth. African horse sickness caused a major decline in the Indian population in the 1960s (Wikipedia, general species account).

The Indian wild ass once ranged across the arid northwest of India and into Pakistan but now survives only in the Little and Great Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, where the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary protects the Little Rann. The 10th Wild Ass Population Estimation in 2024 counted 7,672, a 26% rise on the 6,082 found in the previous count four years earlier (Gujarat government, as reported by The Assam Tribune 2025 and ForumIAS).

Description: Wildlife of India guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)