African Wild Ass Equus africanus(/asinus)

There are two living subspecies of the African Wild Ass: the Somali Wild Ass (Equus africanus somaliensis/ (Equus asinus somalicus)), shown on this page, native to parts of East Africa, and the Nubian Wild Ass (nominal subspecies) which some claim is extinct in the wild and some claim a small population still exists in a national park in southeastern Egypt (former range southern Egypt and Sudan).

The Nubian Wild Ass looks similar to the Somali above but without the black zebra stripes of the legs. Both have the shoulder cross and white chin-strap. The Nubian Wild Ass is the direct ancestor of the domestic Donkey. A feral population of Donkeys on the Caribbean island of Bonaire is claimed to be closely related to Nubian Ass mtDNA -- but that could be because of the Nubian-Donkey relationship.

The Somali Wild Ass, above, and the Asian Wild Ass (see link below) are said not to be direct ancestors of the domestic Donkey.

The Somali Wild Ass is relatively rare both in the wild and in captivity. They live in small herds or solitary. They are fast and sure-footed in their rocky, arid terrain but, although protected by law and critically endangered, they are still hunted by humans for food.