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.

[7] 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.

During spring and summer in Mongolia, the succulent plants of the family Zygophyllaceae form an important component of the diet of the Mongolian wild ass.

[1] The Mongolian khulan are threatened by apex predators such as gray wolves, dholes and formerly by tigers that became extinct within the regions.

[13] Moreover, political changes in the early 1990s allowed urban populations to return to nomadic land use, resulting in a sharp increase in human and livestock numbers in many rural areas.

[17] It is expected that the re-migration of people and their livestock will result in increased wildlife–human interactions and may well threaten the survival of rare wildlife species in the Gobi Desert.

[18] However, due to human population growth in conjunction with severe winters in the past years,[19] the number of conflicts between herders and Mongolian wild asses appear on the increase.