African Wild Ass (Equus africanus) & Domesticated Donkey (Equus asinus) Fact Sheet: Distribution & Habitat

Populations of wild asses (E. africanus) originally in North Africa from Morocco to Somalia and perhaps western Asia (Clutton-Brock 1981)

• Found in wild today only in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia (IUCN Red List 2008)
• Uncertain in Egypt; Sudan (IUCN Red List 2008)
• Occupy some 23,000 sq km (8,880 sq mi ) (IUCN Red List 2014)

Domesticated and escaped feral donkeys are found world-wide.

• Large feral populations in western Australia, estimated at 1.5 million in 1983. (Nowak 1999)
• Populations in Death Valley (California and Nevada) nearly eliminated by BLM
• 88,000 wild horses and burros in 10 western U.S. states.
• Donkey populations, world-wide, especially in Africa, Asia, Latin America are increasing (Starkey & Starkey 1997)

African Wild Asses live in arid and semi-arid bush/shrub land, grassland, and desert (IUCN 2008 Red List)

• Inhabit the volcanic and stony Great Rift Valley of Eritrea and Ethiopia from below sea level to 2,000 m (6562 ft)
• Marginal desert land; adapted to areas that are arid at least seasonally. (Forstén 1988)
• Desert habitat in Eritrea and Ethiopia suffers from severe frequent droughts.

African Wild Ass distribution.

Adapted from d.-maps.com according to IUCN fact sheet. Click here or on map for detailed distribution (IUCN).

Clutton-Brock (1981)
Forstén (1988)
IUCN Red List (2008)
Nowak (1999)
Starkey & Starkey (1997)