Turkmenian kulan
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The Turkmenian kulan (''Equus hemionus kulan''), also called Transcaspian wild ass, Turkmenistani onager or simply the ', is a subspecies of
onager The onager (; ''Equus hemionus'' ), A new species called the kiang (''E. kiang''), a Tibetan relative, was previously considered to be a subspecies of the onager as ''E. hemionus kiang'', but recent molecular studies indicate it to be a distinct ...
(Asiatic wild ass) native to
Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
. It was declared
Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...
in 2016. 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 Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
and
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
, as well as
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, where the subspecies are hybridizing with
Persian onager The Persian onager (''Equus hemionus onager''), also called the Persian wild ass or Persian zebra, is a subspecies of onager (Asiatic wild ass) native to Iran (Persia). It is listed as Endangered, with no more than 600 individuals left in the wil ...
s in the wild. Previously in 2005, the population was estimated at 1,295-1,345 in
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
. 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 The Ustyurt or Ust-Yurt (from kk, Үстірт; uz, Ustyurt; tk, Üstyurt; — flat hill, plateau) is a transboundary clay desert shared by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The plateau's semi-nomadic population raises sheep, goats, an ...
around Lake Sarakamish. However, certain fragmented populations of Transcaspian wild ass are currently on the rise to even more than 2,000 individuals in the wild. It is also estimated that over 6,000 kulans live in Central Asia. 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 Altyn-Emel National Park ( kk, Алтынемел саябағы, ''Altynemel saiabağy'' ; rus, Алтын-Эмель национальный парк , ''Altyn-Emel' Natsional'nyy Park'') is a national park in Kazakhstan. It was created in 19 ...
.


Physical description

The Turkmenian kulan is one of the largest subspecies of the onagers. It is 200–250 cm long, 100–140 cm tall at the shoulder, and it weighs 200–240 kg. Male onagers are larger than the females. The Transcaspian wild ass is characterized by a pale brown coat, a dark stripe down the spine and white patches on the sides, back and belly. It also has shaggy black mane and a tuft at the tail end. During the summer, the Turkmenian kulan's coat is leaner and brown, then it turns into thick grayish-brown winter coat during the cold season.


Evolution

The genus ''Equus'', which includes all extant equines, is believed to have evolved from ''
Dinohippus ''Dinohippus'' (Greek: "Terrible horse") is an extinct equid which was endemic to North America from the late Hemphillian stage of the Miocene through the Zanclean stage of the Pliocene (10.3—3.6 mya) and in existence for approximately . Foss ...
'' via the intermediate form ''
Plesippus ''Plesippus'' is a genus of extinct horse from the Pleistocene of North America. Although commonly seen as a subgenus of ''Equus'' recent cladistic analysis considers it a distinct genus. Species Two species are recognized by Barron et al. (201 ...
''. One of the oldest species is ''
Equus simplicidens The Hagerman horse (''Equus simplicidens''), also called the Hagerman zebra or the American zebra, was a North American species of equid from the Pliocene epoch and the Pleistocene epoch. It was one of the oldest horses of the genus ''Equus'' and ...
'', described as zebra-like with a donkey-shaped head. The oldest fossil to date is ~3.5 million years old from Idaho, USA. The genus appears to have spread quickly into the Old World, with the similarly aged ''Equus livenzovensis'' documented from western Europe and Russia. Molecular phylogenies indicate the most recent common ancestor of all modern equids (members of the genus ''Equus'') lived ~5.6 (3.9–7.8) mya. Direct paleogenomic sequencing of a 700,000-year-old middle Pleistocene horse metapodial bone from Canada implies a more recent 4.07 Myr before present date for the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) within the range of 4.0 to 4.5 Myr BP. The oldest divergencies are the Asian hemiones (subgenus ''E. (
Asinus ''Asinus'' is a subgenus of '' Equus'' (single-toed (hooved) grazing animal) that encompasses several subspecies of the Equidae commonly known as wild asses, characterized by long ears, a lean, straight-backed build, lack of a true withers, a ...
)'', including the kulan,
onager The onager (; ''Equus hemionus'' ), A new species called the kiang (''E. kiang''), a Tibetan relative, was previously considered to be a subspecies of the onager as ''E. hemionus kiang'', but recent molecular studies indicate it to be a distinct ...
, and
kiang The kiang (''Equus kiang'') is the largest of the '' Asinus'' subgenus. It is native to the Tibetan Plateau, where it inhabits montane and alpine grasslands. Its current range is restricted to the plains of the Tibetan plateau; Ladakh; and nort ...
), followed by the African zebras (subgenera ''E. ( Dolichohippus)'', and ''E. (
Hippotigris Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zeb ...
)''). All other modern forms including the domesticated horse (and many fossil
Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
forms) belong to the subgenus ''E. ( Equus)'' which diverged ~4.8 (3.2–6.5) million years ago.


Habitat and range

The Turkmenian kulan lives in Central Asian deltas, hot and cold deserts or semi-deserts, steppes, arid grasslands and shrublands. The Turkmen specimen used to be the most widespread of the onagers, ranging from northernmost
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and northern
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, the
Transcaspian Oblast The Transcaspian Oblast (russian: Закаспійская область), or just simply Transcaspia (russian: Закаспія), was the section of Russian Empire and early Soviet Russia to the east of the Caspian Sea during the second half of ...
and
western China Western China (, or rarely ) is the west of China. In the definition of the Chinese government, Western China covers one municipality (Chongqing), six provinces (Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively r ...
to
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
and southern
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
. It used to live in
Saryesik-Atyrau Desert The Saryesik Atyrau Desert ( kk, Сарыесікатырау, ''Saryesıkatyrau'') is a desert in the Balkhash-Alakol Basin,herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
s,
shrubbery A shrubbery, shrub border or shrub garden is a part of a garden where shrubs, mostly flowering species, are thickly planted. The original shrubberies were mostly sections of large gardens, with one or more paths winding through it, a less-rememb ...
and
plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...
s. Most of their liquid comes from food, although often traveling at water sources, especially when breast-feeding their offspring. The mare lives with foals in small herds. The dominant stallion defends the surrounding areas to the water sources and tries to mate with any females that come close to drink. The mare, after a gestation period of about a year, gives birth to a single foal that stays with her mother for the first two years of life. The scorching heat of the Central Asian deserts makes the Transcaspian wild ass mostly active at dawn and dusk when temperatures are milder. The kulans, like most onagers, are one of the fastest land mammals and can run at high speed of 70 km/h.


Threats

Like all onagers, the Turkmenian kulan is threatened by poaching, hunting for their meat and their coat, habitat loss and relationships with apex predators such as
Persian leopard ''Panthera pardus tulliana'' is a leopard subspecies native to the Iranian Plateau and surrounding areas encompassing Turkey, the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Iraq, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and possibly Pakistan. Since 2016, i ...
s, striped hyenas and mostly Himalayan wolves. Extinct predators like the
Caspian tiger The Caspian tiger was a ''Panthera tigris tigris'' population native to eastern Turkey, northern Iran, Mesopotamia, the Caucasus around the Caspian Sea, Central Asia to northern Afghanistan, and the Xinjiang region in western China. Until the Midd ...
also preyed on the kulan. However, like other onagers, they have anti-predatory protections. Group of stallions can cooperate and chase off the predators.


Conservation

In early 1919, the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
placed the Turkmenian kulan under protection. However, the measures enacted in their favor have not saved them from local
extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
s, such as in Kazakhstan, where the subspecies disappeared in 1935. The main kulan population has suffered a dramatic decline in recent years. Badkhyz was the main stronghold and the last habitat of the Transcaspian wild ass which contained a few thousands of individuals, until it was reintroduced in other protected areas in Turkmenistan and other Central Asian countries that was built purposely for the kulans, such as the
Gaplaňgyr Nature Reserve Gaplaňgyr or Kaplankyr is a mountain plateau and nature reserve (''zapovednik'') of northern Turkmenistan. It was established in 1979. It is a place for the protection and restoration of indigenous flora and fauna, it is located on the Gaplaňgy ...
, the Çemenebit Sanctuary and the
Mäne-Çäçe Sanctuary Mäne-Çäçe Sanctuary is a sanctuary (''zakaznik'') of Turkmenistan. It is part of Köpetdag Nature Reserve. Its purpose of creation is studying, preservation of all natural complex of the Central Köpetdag, maintenance of necessary conditions ...
. As of 1996-1997 the total population of Turkmenian kulan were estimated at between 500 and 700 kulans in Kazakhstan and about 6,000 kulans in Turkmenistan. Of the latter about 5,000 to 6,000 lived in Badkhyz Zapovednik alone and about 1,000 in artificially restored populations elsewhere in Turkmenistan. In Badkhyz, the Turkmenian kulan population has decreased from 6,000 individuals as of 1993 to 2,400 in 1998 and to 650 in 2002. Currently, there are 900 kulans in Badkhyz. Previously in 2005, there were more than 1,300 Turkmenian kulans in Turkmenistan (850-900 in
Badhyz State Nature Reserve The Badhyz State Nature Reserve is a protected area (zapovednik) in south-western Turkmenistan that was established in 1941 and extends over in the Mary and Akhal Provinces. It is located south of the Karakum Desert, and the Tejen River forms i ...
and another 445 in seven different reintroduction sites).


Reintroduction projects

After their local extinction in Kazakhstan in the 1930s, the kulan was reintroduced in four localities of Kazakhstan (where live about 900 specimens), and in Uzbekistan afterwards (34 specimens). The first reintroduction site of Turkmenian kulans in Kazakhstan was the Barsa-Kelmes Nature Reserve. Another 35 were reintroduced to the Aktau-Buzachinsky Sanctuary in 1991, which have grown to a population of more than 100 individuals on the Mangishlak Peninsula. Between 1986 and 1990, 105 Turmenian kulans were reintroduced to the Andasai Sanctuary, and have since increased to 200. In 1984, 32 kulans were reintroduced to the Kapchagai Game Area, which subsequently became the
Altyn-Emel National Park Altyn-Emel National Park ( kk, Алтынемел саябағы, ''Altynemel saiabağy'' ; rus, Алтын-Эмель национальный парк , ''Altyn-Emel' Natsional'nyy Park'') is a national park in Kazakhstan. It was created in 19 ...
(over 50,000,000 hectares in area), from southeastern Kazakhstan which consists of
desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
, between the
Ili River The Ili ( ug, ئىلى دەرياسى, Ili deryasi, Ili dəryasi, 6=Или Дәряси; kk, Ile, ; russian: Или; zh, c=伊犁河, p=Yīlí Hé, dng, Йили хә, Xiao'erjing: اِلِ حْ; mn, Ил, literally "Bareness") is a river sit ...
and the Ak-Tau mountain range, near Lake Kapchagai. The previous census revealed that more than 700 individuals lived at Altyn-Emel. The population of Turkmenian kulan are on the rise, as that said small populations of Turkmenian kulan at Altyn-Emel increased to 2,000 as of 2012. The population has further increased to 3,400 kulans in Altyn-Emel as of 2017. In Kazakhstan,
BirdLife BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
partner, the ACBK (Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan) has recently started work on a project to establish a new kulan population in Central Asian steppe. On 24 October 2017, nine kulans were taken from Altyn-Emel and released to Altyn Dala protected area of the central Kazakh steppes. The reintroduction project aims to further move 30 or 40 kulans from Altyn Emel to the central steppes during the next 3 or 4 years. They are also released in Irgiz-Turgai. The Turkmenian kulans, along with the
Przewalski's horse Przewalski's horse (, , (Пржевальский ), ) (''Equus ferus przewalskii'' or ''Equus przewalskii''), also called the takhi, Mongolian wild horse or Dzungarian horse, is a rare and endangered horse originally native to the steppes of Ce ...
, have been reintroduced to the Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve in southern
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. In 2020, a herd of 20 kulans sourced from the Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve were reintroduced to the Tarutyns'kyj steppe in southwestern Ukraine.


In captivity

The Turkmenian kulans are breeding in captivity in zoos, breeding centers and wildlife parks part of the American ( SSP,
AZA Aza or AZA may refer to: Places *Aza, Azerbaijan, a village and municipality *Azadkənd, Nakhchivan or Lower Aza, Azerbaijan *Aza, medieval name of Haza, Province of Burgos, Spain *Aźa, a Tibetan name for the Tuyuhun kingdom *Aza, a Hebrew roman ...
) and Eurasian ( EEP,
EAZA The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), is an organisation for the European zoo and aquarium community that links over 340 member organisations in 41 countries. EAZA membership is open to all zoos and aquaria across Europe that compl ...
) captive breeding programs. There are over 1,000 Turkmenian kulans registered in the international studbook of the
World Association of Zoos and Aquariums The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) is the "umbrella" organization for the world zoo and aquarium community. Its mission is to provide leadership and support for zoos, aquariums, and partner organizations of the world in animal ca ...
(WAZA).


Related subspecies

*
Mongolian wild ass The Mongolian wild ass (''Equus hemionus hemionus''), also known as Mongolian khulan, is the nominate subspecies of the onager. It is found in southern Mongolia and northern China. It was previously found in eastern Kazakhstan and southern Siberi ...
(''khulan''), ''Equus hemionus hemionus'' *
Persian onager The Persian onager (''Equus hemionus onager''), also called the Persian wild ass or Persian zebra, is a subspecies of onager (Asiatic wild ass) native to Iran (Persia). It is listed as Endangered, with no more than 600 individuals left in the wil ...
(''gur''), ''Equus hemionus onager'' *
Indian wild ass The Indian wild ass (''Equus hemionus khur''), also called the Indian onager or, in the local Gujarati language, Ghudkhur and Khur, is a subspecies of the onager native to South Asia. It is currently listed as Near Threatened by IUCN. The prev ...
(''khur''), ''Equus hemionus khur'' *
Syrian wild ass The Syrian wild ass (''Equus hemionus hemippus''), less commonly known as a hemippe, an achdari, or a Mesopotamian or Syrian onager, is an extinct subspecies of onager native to the Arabian peninsula and surrounding areas. It ranged across present ...
or hemippe, ''Equus hemionus hemippus'' (
extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:kulan, Turkmenian Onager Mammals of Central Asia Endangered fauna of Asia
Turkmenian kulan The Turkmenian kulan (''Equus hemionus kulan''), also called Transcaspian wild ass, Turkmenistani onager or simply the ', is a subspecies of onager (Asiatic wild ass) native to Central Asia. It was declared Endangered in 2016. The species's popu ...