The Mongolian wild ass (Equus hemionus hemionus), also known as Mongolian khulan, is the nominate subspecies of the onager. It is found in southern Mongolia and northern China. It was previously found in eastern Kazakhstan and southern Siberia before being extirpated there through hunting.[4] As of 2015, the Mongolian wild ass is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN.[1] Current population estimates are approximately 42,000 individuals in Mongolia and around 5,000 individuals in Northern China.

The Mongolian wild ass is synonymous with the Gobi khulan (Equus hemionus luteus), also called the chigetai, dziggetai or simply khulan, Mongolian: Хулан.

The Mongolian wild ass has become primarily confined to the desert-steppe, semi-desert and deserts habitats of Gobi Desert.

The Mongolian wild ass is the most widespread subspecies, although despite that, the subspecies lost about 50% of its former distribution range in Mongolia in the past 70 years. The former range of the Asiatic wild ass in East Asia between the seventeenth and the middle of the nineteenth century encompassed the greater part of Mongolia, areas of Siberia and Manchuria, the western part of Inner Mongolia and the northern part of Xinjiang. Its distribution range then dramatically reduced during the 1990s. A 1994–1997 survey estimated its population size at 33,000 to 63,000 individuals over a continuous distribution range encompassing all of southern Mongolia. In 2003, a new survey found approximately 20,000 individuals over an area of 177,563 square kilometres (68,557 sq mi) in southern Mongolia. The species had decreased to 14,000 individuals in 2009. The population estimates of the Mongolian population should be treated with caution due to a lack of proven survey protocols.

The individuals in this gallery are wild outside the Karamori National Wildlife Reserve in Xinjiang China.