Onagers gallop back to Saudi Arabia

Rare subspecies fills the desert niche left by its extinct relative

- Kirsten Henton

NEARLY A CENTURY AGO, the syrian wild ass, one of six subspecies of onager and the only one found in Saudi Arabia, was declared extinct, a result of hunting, habitat loss and competition with livestock. Last year, the country welcomed back these equids with the introduction of the Persian onager, a fellow subspecies and the closest genetic relative of the Syrian wild ass. Seven individuals were translocated to the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Royal Reserve in northwest Saudi Arabia from the Shaumari Reserve in Jordan, with th