| African Wild Donkey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific Classification | |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Perissodactyla |
| Family | Equidae |
| Genus | Equus |
| Conservation Status | |
 Critically Endangered | |
The African wild donkey or African wild ass (Equus africanus) is a wild member of the horse family, Equidae. The word "ass" comes from Middle English asse which comes from Old English assa which is a back-formation of assen which is from a Celtic source that comes from Latin asinus which is of a substrate origin and cannot be traced to the Elden Greek word for it which is of a substrate origin as well that is non-Indo-European in origin. This species is believed to be the ancestor of the domestic donkey, which is usually placed within the same species. They live in the deserts and other arid areas of the Horn of Africa, in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. It formerly had a wider range north and west into Sudan, Egypt, and Libya. About 570 individuals exist in the wild.
Description[]
The African wild ass is 2 metres (6.6 ft) long and 1.25 to 1.45 metres (4 ft 1 in to 4 ft 9 in) (12 to 14 hands) tall at the shoulders, with a tail 30–50 centimetres (12–20 in) long.
Habitat[]
African wild asses are well suited to life in a desert or semidesert environment. They have tough digestive systems, which can break down desert vegetation and extract moisture from food efficiently. They can also go without water for a fairly long time.