[3][4] It is presumed to be extinct, though two populations potentially survive on the Caribbean island of Bonaire and in Gebel Elba.

[1] Similar to the decline of the Somali wild ass, the Nubian wild ass's extinction can largely be attributed to hunting, competition with livestock for limited desert resources, and hybridization with the Domestic donkey.

[3] In 2014–2015, a mitochondrial DNA analysis was conducted on a population of feral donkeys on the Caribbean island of Bonaire.

The study included DNA samples from the Bonaire animals, museum specimens of Nubian wild asses, sequences from four Somali wild asses, and a sequence from one Domestic donkey, used as a control.

However, research published in 2010 found that modern donkeys are descended from two lineages of wild ass, one being Nubian and the other being of unknown ancestry.