These are Somali Wild Asses – a sub-species of African Wild Asses – that used to live right across northern Africa. Now they are critically endangered and only live in the arid plains and mountainous areas of Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea in East Africa.
In the wild, they live in small herds of about a dozen animals. That’s because the terrain where they live is so poor in nutrition that it will only support small herds.
We photographed these in captivity at Marwell Zoo here in England where they are part of an international breeding program. It may be their only hope safeguard against becoming extinct.
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Love the stripey legs! Great photos, am a fan of the Ass
Thanks, Ruth.
Those legs are lovely, I agree
Great post, funnily enough I was saying to my wife the other day that a hadn’t been to Marwell in ages!
Yes, you should go. Have you got a long lens? I think most of my shots were at the 300mm end, (450mm full-frame equivalent).
Marwell is pretty special for the amount of space most of the animals have. It’s almost like a safari park rather than a zoo, isn’t it.
Catchy title
Never heard of Marwell, but these are beautiful wild asses.
Sophie, It’s near Winchester – south-west of London. Well worth a visit because most of the animals (from capybara to zebra) have big, open grassy enclosures. Here’s a tip – take binoculars!
These are so beautiful! They remind me of the Przewalski’s Horse, also endangered.
Yes, good observation – they have that same stocky frame. We have seen the ‘Polish’ horses at Marwell also.
I may have posted my own photos of the Przewalski’s Horse online before, as I have seen them, in the most unexpected of places and very close to home. There is an area of special scientific interest on the boundaries of Farnborough airport which is out of bounds to the public.
They introduced some of these horses to this area and for various reasons, they have thrived there. We’ve had them there for many years now. I know of a place where you can see them albeit through a security fence.
Apparently it’s a joint project between scientists here in the UK and their native Mongolian tundra.
Great to have your contribution, Nick, and for the photo – all the way back to 2008, I see. Isn’t it strange looking back on old posts and thinking of the things that have changed in the interim.
I am replying from Berkeley, California – tell you about it later, but just arrived and checking the the VPN works with the hotel Wifi – it does.
California hey?! Is it sunny and hot? :-O
I couldn’t believe that I had taken that photo so long ago! 2008 was a very weird year!
http://www.nicklewis.net/2008/12/09/przewalski-horse/
Great post title — definitely got me to hop on over here after hanging out over at Nomadic Samuel. You know … I don’t think I’ve ever really seen donkeys move much! This is quite the unexpected behavior! I guess I must have only seen the domesticated and bored asses up to this point.
Thanks for taking a look, Ellen. I just took a look at your articles about Peru – somewhere I have visited – and they brought back lots of memories. Great stuff!
Yes, 2008 – a world away, heh?
It was cloudy in the hills behind the bay when we arrived late afternoon and then sky cleared and it was a lovely evening. My body clock said it was 3.45am, so I went for a coffee and then went to bed.