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A pair of endangered Persian onager foals born this summer, represent fertility firsts, report zoologists.

Persian onagers (on-uh-gurs) are an endangered species of wild equine. The foals, born June 28 and July 9, at "The Wilds" in Cumberland, Ohio, are the first wild horse species members born by artificial insemination, according to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park.

About 600 to 700 onagers roam two reserves in Iran, threatened by loss of habitat, poaching and competition with livestock. Fewer than 100 are in zoo facilities and the population is not large enough to sustain the species without breeding.