Onager

The Onager (Equus hemionus) is an Asian equid that is also known as the Asiatic Wild Ass or the Hemione. It is only available in Zoo Tycoon DS.

Description[]

Onagers are larger than other members of the Asinus subgenus (which includes the African wild ass and the domestic donkey), having an average weight of 290 kg (640 lb) and measuring 2.1 m (6.9 ft) long from head to torso.

The Onager can be found in a number of Middle-Eastern and Asian countries such as Afghanistan, China, and Iran. The Onager is split into a number of subspecies in part of this wide geographic range. Onagers also live in large herds, with as many as 1,200 individuals found together. However, this is only seen around sources of food and water.

The diet of the Onager consists of grasses, leaves, herbs, fruit. Salt-rich vegetation will also be consumed if available. Onagers will also browse shrubs and trees during drier periods. As a water substitute, Onagers will eat snow during the cold winter. Common predators of the Onager are Persian Leopards, Striped Hyenas, and Gray Wolves.

The onager is currently threatened by poaching, genetic bottlenecking in isolated populations, and overgrazing from livestock. However, Onager populations are currently growing, and the species is classified as near threatened.

In-Game Information[]

In Zoo Tycoon DS, the Onager resides in the North American Grasslands biome and its favourite plant is the Broadleaf Bush. They live in groups of about five per exhibit and cost $7,000 per animal to adopt. As well as Grasslands, the Onager needs Sand, Dirt, Fresh Water and Deciduous terrain in its exhibit to be happy. The Onager is part of the last five animals which can only be unlocked by completing the Campaign missions and meeting certain special conditions in the player's Zoo. However, the animal can also be unlocked using the Unlock All Cheat.

Collection Card Information
The onager is one of the several races of Asian wild ass. It lives in Iran and is also called the Persian wild ass. It weighs over 500 pounds. The onager can be over 6 feet long and stand 4 and one half feet tall. The number of Asian wild ass declined drastically in the course of 100-150 years. The onager was no exception. By 1970, there were said to be only 650 to 700 animals left. In 2001, the number had declined to 144 animals confined to 2 spots in Iran. The decline of the Asian ass, including the onager, was mainly a result of the increase in human population. The onager lost its habitat due to human expansion. Land that previously provided a scarce amount of grasses for the onager was instead used for raising livestock. On top of that, livestock consume the precious water sources that animals like this need to survive. Finally, hunting further accelerated the decline of the Onager. Even in animal preserves, the onager has been hunted endlessly for its meat and hide. An onager that is kept in captivity prefers to be in groups. It also needs a large, spacious exhibit. The onager will require a sufficient amount of fresh water in the exhibit. The Asian ass has generally decreased overall. However, there are still 8000 of these animals that currently exist in southern Mongolia. Compared to this number, the number of onager that still exists is extremely small. The threat of extinction that faces the onager is still quite serious.

Trivia[]

The Onager and the Kouprey are the only animals in Zoo Tycoon DS that were not originally present in the original PC game.
The Onager's data erroneously place it in North America, contrary to its collector's card which has the correct locale of Eurasia.
Unlike the Kouprey, which reuses another animals sounds, the Onager has a unique whooping call not shared by any other animal in game.