Travel & Tourism

One of the world’s rarest animals has been born at Chester Zoo

Look at that ass!

Daisy Jackson - 2nd August 2024

An onager foal – one of the most critically endangered animals in the world – has been born at Chester Zoo.

The beautiful baby is an exceptionally rare addition, with only around 600 of the species believed to still exist in the wild.

Onagers are related to the domestic donkey and are from the family equidae, which also includes horses, mules and zebras.

There used to be species in abundance across Mongolia, China and Iran, but nowadays the Asiatic wild ass is only found in two protected areas in the semi-desert regions of Iran.

The beautiful animals have been left teetering on the edge of existence thanks to illegal poaching, overgrazing, drought and disease passed from farm animals.

Their numbers have plummeted by more than 50% in the last two decades alone, and are now listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and face a very high chance of extinction.

Jasper the Onager foal with his mum at Chester Zoo. Credit: Supplied

Chester Zoo is a leading part of a European-wide conservation breeding programme that’s working to safeguard the species.

The foal that has been born this week has been named Jasper, which means ‘bringer of treasure’ in Persian.

The ‘leggy youngster’ was born to mum Azita following a year-long pregnancy.

Mike Jordan, Animal and Plant Director at Chester Zoo, said: “Onagers are the most threatened equid species in the world and one of the rarest animals that we care for here at the zoo, so we’re absolutely delighted a new foal has been born – he’ll help to boost global numbers of this little-known species.

The new Onager foal at Chester Zoo is one of the rarest animals in the world. Credit: Chester Zoo

“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.

“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.

“That’s why we’re part of an international conservation breeding programme, to ensure there’s a viable safety-net population of onager in zoos. In time, Jasper will go on to contribute to these efforts, helping to safeguard this charismatic species and preserve options for their conservation into the future.”

Featured image: Supplied, Chester Zoo