Turkmenian kulan

"Kulan" redirects here. For other uses, see Kulan (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with the related khulan or Mongolian wild ass.

Turkmenian kulan
A Turkmenian kulan at Wildpark Pforzheim.
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Equidae
Genus: Equus
Species:
E. hemionus
Subspecies:
E. h. kulan
Trinomial name
Equus hemionus kulan
Groves & Mazák, 1967
Synonyms

Equus hemionus finschi
(Matschie, 1911)

The Turkmenian kulan (Equus hemionus kulan), also called Transcaspian wild ass,[3] Turkmenistani onager or simply the kulan, is a subspecies of onager (Asiatic wild ass) native to Central Asia. It was declared Endangered in 2016.[1]

The species's population had recently been in decline in the country while it slowly increases in reintroduction sites. The Turkmenian kulan has been reintroduced to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, as well as Israel, where the subspecies are hybridizing with Persian onagers in the wild.

Previously in 2005, the population was estimated at 1,295-1,345 in Turkmenistan. No other data existed on the condition of the Turkmenistan populations, but hope remained that small groups of animals still resided in inaccessible areas around Badkhyz, and were thriving in the West Kopetdagh (Sumbar-Chandyr Valley) and Ustyurt Plateau around Lake Sarakamish.[4] However, certain fragmented populations of Transcaspian wild ass are currently on the rise to even more than 2,000 individuals in the wild.[5] It is also estimated that over 6,000 kulans live in Central Asia.[6] In 2017, there are 3,900 kulans in total roaming in Kazakhstan, of which the largest Kazakh population (3,400) reside in Altyn-Emel National Park.[7]

  1. ^ a b Kaczensky, P.; Lkhagvasuren, B.; Pereladova, O.; Hemami, M.; Bouskila, A. (2016). "Equus hemionus ssp. kulan". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T7964A3144714. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T7964A3144714.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ Bowling, A. T.; Ruvinsky, A. (2000). The Genetics of the Horse. p. 174. ISBN 9780851999258 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference WWFKulan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference kazakhkulan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference kulannumbers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Zharbolova, Danara (21 December 2017). "Coming home: The kulan of Central Kazakhstan". BirdLife.org. BirdLife International. Retrieved 28 December 2017.