| Syrian Wild Ass | |
|---|---|
| Syrian Wild Ass in London Zoo, 1872. | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Perissodactyla |
| Family: | Equidae |
| Genus: | Equus |
| Subgenus: | Asinus |
| Species: | E. hemionus |
| Subspecies: | E. h. hemippus |
| Trinomial name | |
| Equus hemionus hemippus Geoffroy, 1855 |
|
The Syrian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus hemippus) is an extinct subspecies of Equus hemionus that ranged across Syria, Jordan and Iraq.
The Syrian Wild Ass was the smallest form of Equidae and could not be domesticated.[1] Its coloring changed with the seasons—a tawny olive coat for the summer months and pale sandy yellow for the winter.[2][3]
It is believed this is the animal described as the "wild ass" in several books of the Old Testament, including Job, Psalms, Jeremiah and the Apochryphal book of Sirach. European travelers in the Middle East during the 15th and 16th centuries reported seeing large herds.[4] However, its numbers began to drop precipitously during the 18th and 19th centuries due to overhunting, and its existence was further imperiled by the regional upheaval of World War I. The last known wild specimen was fatally shot in 1927 at Al Ghams near the Azraq oasis in Jordan, and the last captive specimen died the same year at the Vienna Zoo.[2]