Dear colleagues,
I have been looking into Roman sources (Strabo, Varro) which repeatedly
refer to the presence of "wild asses" in central Anatolia (Turkey) in antiquity.
Wild donkeys are not present in this region and evidence for hemiones is very
sparse, while the extinct hydruntine was the dominant "ass" at least through
the middle Holocene. Are these authors possibly referring to a very late
presence of an extinct equid or is there another explanation? Is it possible for
donkeys to go feral? Are there any example of this?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Benjamin Arbuckle
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