Onager

Population

Population threats

Presently, Onager populations a whole is primarily threatened by poaching for consumption. Other human activities include river diversion for crop irrigation, because of which their arid, desert habitat becomes even drier and more barren. On the other hand, these mammals heavily suffer from excessive grazing by livestock, leading to food shortages and making Onagers compete for water sources as well. Additionally, they are often left without suitable food due to removal of shrubs and bushes within their range. Further, some populations of this species live in isolation for a long period of time. As a result, they often have serious problems, associated with continuous interbreeding. Two small populations of these animals are negatively affected by disease and drought.

Population number

According to the IUCN Red List, the global population of Onagers is 55,000 animals. This includes 40,000 individuals in Mongolia with additional 1, 500 individuals in the Transaltai Gobi; around 5,000 Onagers are believed to occur in adjacent China, primarily in Xinjiang province; around 4, 000 animals are found in the Little Rann of Kutch, India; around 3, 100 Onagers live in Kazakhstan; around 790 animals occur in Iran; around 920 - in Turkmenistan and adjacent Uzbekistan; and 250 live in the Negev, Israel. At present, there have been accomplished two projects of Onager re-introduction into semi-reserves, which are large enclosures. One of these semi-reserves is the Dzheiran Ecocentre, located in Uzbekistan and holding a population of 98 individuals. The other one is on the Birjutschii peninsula (Ukraine), which is home to 91 Onagers. Nevertheless, none of these populations was reported on the IUCN Red List. Overall, Onagers are currently classified as Near Threatened (NT), but their numbers remain stable.

Ecological niche

Onagers may impact vegetation communities in which they live by grazing.