African wild ass
Equus africanus Heuglin & Fitzinger, 1866
CRCritically Endangeredmammals
The African wild ass (Equus africanus) is a mammal in the family Equidae, order Perissodactyla. It is a living species, assessed globally on the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered, an IUCN threatened category.
Quick facts about the African wild ass
Its gestation period is 365.2 days, or 1.0 years. Other English names for it include Ass, Wild ass, African ass, Atlas wild ass and Nubian wild ass.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- desertsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 365 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Critically Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the African wild ass
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the African wild ass live?
Not recorded
What is the African wild ass?
The African wild ass (Equus africanus) or African wild donkey, is a wild member of the horse family, Equidae. This species is thought to be the ancestor of the domestic donkey (Equus asinus), which is sometimes placed within the same species. They live in the deserts and other arid areas of the Horn of Africa, in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. It formerly had a wider range north and west into Sudan, Egypt, and Libya. It is critically endangered, with about 570 existing in the wild, making it the most threatened species of the family.
From the Wikipedia article “African wild ass” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=African_wild_ass&oldid=1384412882), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the African wild ass endangered?
The African wild ass is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Critically Endangered species. What the categories mean.
How is the African wild ass classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderPerissodactyla
- familyEquidae
- genusEquus
- SpeciesEquus africanus Heuglin & Fitzinger, 1866
Other names and names in other languages (67)
- African assEnglish
- African assEnglish
- African wild donkeyEnglish
- Algerian wild assEnglish
- AssEnglish
- AssEnglish
- Atlas wild assEnglish
- Atlas wild assEnglish
- Nubian wild assEnglish
- Nubian wild assEnglish
- Somali wild assEnglish
- Somali wild assEnglish
- Wild assEnglish
- Baro-DanenAfar
- WildeselAfrikaans
- Wilde DonkieAfrikaans
- Yedur AhiyaAmharic
- حمار بري إفريقيArabic
- Somero salbache africanoAragonese
- Pollín africanuAsturian
- Afrika eşşəyiAzerbaijani
- Нубийско диво магареBulgarian
- Azen gouezBreton
- Ase salvatge africàCatalan
- osel africkýCzech
- Afrikansk vildæselDanish
- Afrikanischer EselGerman
- Afrikanischer WildeselGerman
- Αφρικανικός όνοςGreek
- Αφρικανικός γάιδαροςGreek
- Afrika azenoEsperanto
- Asno salvaje africanoSpanish
- Asno Salvaje de AfricaSpanish
- Asno Silvestre AfricanoSpanish
- UlukeeselEstonian
- TedziEwe
- خر وحشی آفریقاییPersian
- AfrikanvilliaasiFinnish
- Ane sauvage d'AfriqueFrench
- Âne Sauvage D'AfriqueFrench
- Echt eeselNorthern Frisian
- ערודHebrew
- Afrički divlji magaracCroatian
- afrikai vadszamárHungarian
- Asino selvatico africanoItalian
- アフリカノロバJapanese
- 아프리카야생당나귀Korean
- Afrikinis asilasLithuanian
- Āfrikas savvaļas ēzelisLatvian
- Keldai Liar AfrikaMalay
- VilleselNorwegian Bokmål
- Afrikansk VilleselNorwegian Bokmål
- Afrikaanse Wilde EzelDutch
- Osioł afrykańskiPolish
- افریقی جنگلی کھوتاWestern Panjabi
- Asno-selvagem-africanoPortuguese
- Дикий осёлRussian
- Somár africkýSlovak
- GumburiSomali
- Афрички дивљи магарацSerbian
- afrikansk vildåsnaSwedish
- ลาป่าแอฟริกาThai
- Afrika Yaban EşeğiTurkish
- Віслюк дикийUkrainian
- Adghi Barekaroot
- 非洲野驢Chinese
- 非洲野驴Chinese
Relatives of the African wild ass
Other species in the same genus Equus.
Onager
Equus hemionus
Plains zebra
Equus quagga
Wild horse
Equus ferus
Grévy's zebra
Equus grevyi
Mountain zebra
Equus zebra
Kiang
Equus kiang
CompareAfrican wild ass vs OnagerAfrican wild ass vs Plains zebraAfrican wild ass vs Wild horseAfrican wild ass vs Grévy's zebra
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the African wild ass?
The African wild ass is a mammal in the family Equidae, part of the order Perissodactyla.
What is the scientific name of the African wild ass?
Its scientific name is Equus africanus, in the genus Equus.
Is the African wild ass endangered?
Yes. It is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List global assessment, an IUCN threatened category.
How long is the African wild ass gestation period?
The gestation period of the African wild ass is 365.2 days, or 1.0 years.
Who named the African wild ass?
Equus africanus was named by Heuglin & Fitzinger, 1866.
What are other names for the African wild ass?
Other English names are Ass, Wild ass, African ass, Atlas wild ass and Nubian wild ass.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). African wild ass (Equus africanus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-wild-ass
“African wild ass (Equus africanus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-wild-ass.
@misc{african_wild_ass_2026,
title = {African wild ass (Equus africanus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-wild-ass},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}