Kulan
Equus hemionus kulan
Kulan (Equus hemionus kulan): The Wild Ass Brought Back to the Steppe
The kulan, or Turkmen wild ass, is a fast, slender wild ass of Central Asia's semi-deserts and steppes. Hunting wiped it out across most of its range, and by the 1940s only about 200 survived in Turkmenistan. Animals moved from that last herd now number in the thousands in Kazakhstan, and since 2017 kulans have been returning to the central Kazakh steppe. It is still Endangered.
- Habitat
- Semi-desert, desert plains and dry steppe, usually within reach of water in summer
- Size
- 1-1.4 m at the shoulder, about 200-260 kg
- Diet
- Mostly grasses, plus herbs, shrubs and bark in dry seasons
- Range
- Turkmenistan; reintroduced to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan; kulan-onager hybrids in Israel
- Conservation
- Endangered (IUCN 2024), 2,400-2,800 mature animals, increasing
- Low point
- About 200 kulans in Badkhyz, Turkmenistan, in the 1940s
Habitat & range
The kulan is the Central Asian subspecies of the Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus). Other subspecies are the khulan of Mongolia, the khur of India and the onager of Iran. Asiatic wild asses once ranged from Ukraine and Anatolia across Kazakhstan to Mongolia. Today they survive on only a small fraction of that range (IUCN Equid Specialist Group). Kulans live on semi-desert plains and dry steppe. In hot summers they stay within about 10-15 km of standing water, and they range much more widely in winter (IUCN Equid Specialist Group). The only native population left was in the Badkhyz reserve in southern Turkmenistan. All the kulans in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan today come from reintroductions (IUCN Red List 2024; Kaczensky et al. 2021).
A wild ass, not a donkey
A kulan is lighter and longer-legged than a donkey. It stands about 1-1.4 m at the shoulder and weighs about 200-260 kg (Animal Diversity Web; IUCN Equid Specialist Group). The summer coat is sandy to reddish-brown with white underparts, and it turns paler and thicker in winter. A dark stripe edged with white runs down the back, and the short mane stands upright (Animal Diversity Web). Domestic donkeys come from a different species, the African wild ass (Korkeasaari Zoo). Asiatic wild asses have been clocked at up to about 70 km/h (43 mph), and wolves are their only natural predator apart from people (Animal Diversity Web). They mostly graze grasses, but in dry seasons they also browse shrubs and can dig in dry riverbeds to reach water (IUCN Equid Specialist Group).
Down to one valley
Overhunting and competition with livestock wiped kulans out of Kazakhstan by the 1930s (Kaczensky et al. 2018; Kaczensky et al. 2021). In 1941 the Soviet authorities created the Badkhyz reserve in Turkmenistan to protect the last 200 or so. Under protection the herd grew to about 6,000 by 1993. In the late 1990s, kulans that left the reserve in summer were shot for meat, and the herd crashed to 2,400 in 1998 and 646 in 2000 (IUCN Equid Specialist Group; Feh et al. 2002). A 2024 review found just over 30 kulans left in Turkmenistan in 2023 and said the original Badkhyz herd had most likely been lost (Arid Ecosystems 2024).
An island, a national park and the Golden Steppe
Long before that crash, scientists had spread the risk. From 1953, kulans from Badkhyz were released on Barsa-Kelmes, then an island in the Aral Sea, and 14 had arrived by 1961 (Eurasian Wildlife and Peoples). From 1982, 32 kulans from the island founded a new herd in what is now Altyn Emel National Park. By 2017 that herd had grown to 3,417 animals, the most successful wild equid reintroduction anywhere (Kaczensky et al. 2018; Kaczensky et al. 2021). Kazakhstan had about 4,400 kulans in 2022-2023 (Arid Ecosystems 2024). Since 2017 the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative has been bringing kulans to the Torgai steppe of central Kazakhstan, where they had been missing for almost a century. The initiative is led by the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK) with Frankfurt Zoological Society and partners. Nine kulans came by helicopter in 2017, followed by two in 2019 and four in 2022. In 2024, 24 kulans made a 2,193 km road trip from Altyn Emel, and nine of them died in the following winter (Nuremberg Zoo; FZS). Another 20 arrived in September 2025 and were released in August 2026 (ACBK). The first released animals roamed areas 10-100 times larger than kulans in their source parks, and poachers killed two of the four collared mares (Kaczensky et al. 2021). At least four foals have now been born in the wild (Qazinform 2026).
Where zoos come in
European zoos keep kulans in an EAZA Ex-situ Programme (EEP), which manages them as one healthy zoo population (Korkeasaari Zoo). Zoo kulans already helped found a wild herd once. In 1968-69, Israel brought in six onagers from captive herds and five kulans from European zoos, and bred them at the Hai-Bar Yotvata reserve. From 1982 to 1993, 38 of their descendants were released into the Negev desert, and about 300 live there today (Zecherle 2020). The Kazakh kulan work is also backed by zoos. Nuremberg Zoo and its friends' society have supported ACBK and FZS since 2011, helped build the acclimatisation enclosures in 2012, and paid 90,000 euros towards the 2024 transport (Nuremberg Zoo). Korkeasaari Zoo in Helsinki also supports kulan conservation with FZS (Korkeasaari Zoo). In 2024, zoo-bred Przewalski's horses from Prague and Berlin joined the kulans at the same Alibi centre (Prague Zoo). The IUCN rates the kulan Endangered, with 2,400-2,800 mature animals and an increasing trend (IUCN Red List 2024).
Fun facts about Kulan
- In the 1940s only about 200 kulans were left in the Badkhyz reserve in Turkmenistan.
- Altyn Emel's kulans grew from 32 founders in 1982 to 3,417 animals counted in 2017.
- Kulans released in central Kazakhstan roamed areas 10 to 100 times larger than kulans in their home parks.
- In 2024, 24 kulans were driven 2,193 km across Kazakhstan, one of the longest overland wildlife moves ever attempted.
- Israel's wild asses descend from six captive onagers and five kulans from European zoos, brought in 1968-69.
Kulan vs Przewalski's Horse (steppe neighbours)
Two comeback stories on one steppe: the kulan is the lighter, long-distance wanderer, and the Przewalski's horse is the stockier true horse.
This is a comparison of two neighbours, not a fight. Both are wild equids that were lost from the Kazakh steppe and are now being brought back to the same Alibi reintroduction centre in Altyn Dala. The kulans came from Altyn Emel, and in 2024 zoo-bred Przewalski's horses came from Prague and Berlin (ACBK; Prague Zoo). The Przewalski's horse is stockier and is a true horse. The kulan is a lighter, longer-legged wild ass built for covering huge distances across open, dry country (Animal Diversity Web; Kaczensky et al. 2021).
Read more about Przewalski's Horse.
Common questions about Kulan
How many kulans are left in the wild?
The IUCN counts about 2,400-2,800 mature kulans, and the trend is increasing. The subspecies is rated Endangered (IUCN Red List 2024). Most live in Kazakhstan, which had about 4,400 kulans of all ages in 2022-2023. Turkmenistan, the last native home, had just over 30 in 2023 (Arid Ecosystems 2024).
Is a kulan a donkey?
No. The kulan is a wild ass, a subspecies of the Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus). Domestic donkeys come from a different species, the African wild ass (Korkeasaari Zoo). They are slimmer and longer-legged, with a sandy summer coat, white underparts and a dark stripe down the back (Animal Diversity Web).
What is the difference between a kulan and an onager?
Both are subspecies of the Asiatic wild ass. The kulan (E. h. kulan) comes from Turkmenistan and has been reintroduced to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The onager (E. h. onager) is Iran's wild ass (CMS). The IUCN calls the onager the most threatened subspecies, now found wild in only one area, Bahram-e-Goor in Iran (IUCN Red List).
How were kulans brought back to Kazakhstan?
In stages. Kulans from Turkmenistan's Badkhyz reserve were released on Barsa-Kelmes island in the Aral Sea from 1953. From 1982, 32 of their descendants founded the Altyn Emel herd, which had grown to 3,417 by 2017 (Kaczensky et al. 2021; feasibility study). Since 2017, kulans have been moved to the Altyn Dala steppe in central Kazakhstan (FZS).
Do zoos help save kulans?
Yes. European zoos manage kulans in an EAZA EEP breeding programme (Korkeasaari Zoo). Israel's wild ass herd was founded in 1968-69 from six captive onagers and five kulans from European zoos, and is now about 300 animals (Zecherle 2020). Nuremberg Zoo helped fund the 2024 kulan move to central Kazakhstan (City of Nuremberg).
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