Come on, this is Tetrapod Zoology: you knew those asses would be of the equid kind, right? I don’t think there’s been much on Tet Zoo about equids yet, nor about perissodactyls at all (a crime, given my strong interest in fossil rhinos). See the links below, however. I’ve taken various wild ass photos at zoos over the years and today is a good chance to use a few of them.

The nomenclature used for asses differs according to which source you consult. All of the African forms – sometimes termed asinines – are included in the species Equus asinus, and indeed domestic donkeys are extremely close relatives of both the Nubian wild ass E. a. africanus and Somali wild ass E. a. somaliensis. Somali wild asses differ obviously from Nubian wild asses and domestic donkeys in their striped legs. While the Nubian wild ass is probably extinct in the wild, the Somali wild ass is critically endangered and reduced to a population of less than 600. A third form – the Atlas wild ass E. a. atlanticus – seems to have become extinct in early historic times.

Read more: Fantastic Asses