Persian onager's rare birth brings hope at Chester ZOO
11 August 2024 15:29
At the zoo in the British town of Chester, a Persian onager was born, considered the rarest animal in the world. It is estimated that only 600 individuals of this endangered species, which naturally occurs in Iran, are left. No wonder the birth of the foal is a sensation.
The zoo's new ward has been named Jasper, which can be translated from Persian as "bringer of treasure." This choice was certainly not accidental. The foal was born after a year-long pregnancy of a female named Azita.
The Persian onager looks like a donkey but is extremely rare
The Persian onager, also called onager, is a subspecies of the Asian wild ass. It belongs to the horse family and is considered to be related to the domestic donkey. Persian onagers live in small herds on the steppes of southeastern Asia, currently only in Iran.
It is estimated that there are only about 600 living individuals. Therefore, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified this species as endangered. According to specialists, it has suffered due to, among other things, illegal poaching, drought, and diseases transmitted by livestock.
On the brink of extinction
Each birth of a new individual brings great joy and hope for the survival of the species.
"With numbers having declined so rapidly in the wild, and the species now teetering on the edge of existence in Iran, it’s sadly very possible that onagers could become extinct in the wild within our lifetime," BBC quotes Mike Jordan, Director of Animals and Plants at Chester Zoo, as saying.
"The leggy youngster, who has been named Jasper by our team, is doing very well and mum Azita is doing a fantastic job of nurturing and bonding with her new charge. He’s full of energy and enjoys playfully kicking up sand as he races around his habitat," added Jordan.
