Kiang

The kiang, native to the Tibetan Plateau, is the largest of the wild asses!

Have you ever wondered what’s the world’s biggest ass? Wonder no more. Kiangs are the largest wild asses in the world. These animals, also known as kyangs or Tibetan wild asses, are about 7 feet long, with large heads and a distinctive coat with a wide brown stripe down their backs. They sometimes roam the grasslands, deserts and steppes of the Tibetan Plateau alone, and sometimes gather in herds numbering in the hundreds. They are fast runners and great swimmers. There are three recognized subspecies, with the western kiang being the most numerous.

Incredible Kiang Facts

• Kiangs have large heads with long, black-tipped ears that they can rotate.
• They can run close to 40 miles per hour over long distances.
• The brown stripe on a kiang’s back runs from the top of its mane all the way to the end of its tail.
• These animals don’t have to drink much water. They get most of their moisture from plants or snow.
• Although kiangs are mostly diurnal, they also sometimes stay awake and graze through the night.
• Sticking to open areas and traveling in herds helps to keep kiangs safe from their only predators – wolves.

Where to Find Kiangs

Kiangs live on the Tibetan Plateau, mainly in China. Their range also extends into parts of India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Although there have not been any official reported sightings in Bhutan, they may exist in the far north and northwestern parts of that country, too.

Kiangs live at altitudes from approximately 8,900 to 17,700 feet. They spend most of their time on the grasslands and alpine meadows, on alpine or desert steppes, and in valleys and basins throughout their range. Kiangs may also be found on the slopes and rocky areas. They tend to stick closely to open areas where grasses, sedges, and short plants are available. They move in herds, up and down in elevation to areas where food is plentiful. 

Scientific Name

The scientific name of the kiang is Equus kiang. The genus, Equus, is derived from Latin and is associated with horses or horse-like animals. This genus was first described by Linnaeus in 1758. Equus includes horses, zebras and asses and is the only extant genus in the family, Equidae.

Kiangs belong to the subfamily Asinus. In addition to kiangs, this subfamily includes the African wild ass, the ancestor of the domestic donkey, and the Asiatic wild ass, also known as the onager. The specific epithet, kiang, is a Tibetan word which refers to wild asses. The word kiang is sometimes spelled kyang.

There are three recognized subspecies: the western kiang, E. k. kiang, the eastern kiang, E. k. holdereri, and the southern kiang, E. k. polyodont. The western kiang is the most abundant, followed by the eastern kiang, and finally the southern kiang.

Kiang Appearance

Kiangs are the largest of the wild asses. Their appearance is equine in nature, much like that of a domestic donkey. They have a large head with long ears tipped in black. Kiangs stand around 55 inches tall at the withers, and their length averages between 72 and 84 inches. Female kiangs are a bit smaller than males. Adult females weigh between about 550 and 660 pounds. Adult males weigh between about 770 to 880 pounds.

A kiang’s appearance differs based on the season. In the summer, their coat is shorter and sleeker. It is a chestnut, or reddish-brown color, with creamy white underparts, including their legs and neck. They have a broad, dark brown stripe that runs all the way down their back, from their mane to their tail.

By the time winter arrives they grow a longer, shaggier coat that is darker brown. This wooly coat helps protect them during the cold months. It is shed each year in the summer, and it is grown back again before each winter.

Kiang Behavior

Kiangs are sometimes solitary, and sometimes form herds of up to several hundred individuals. They gather in larger herds at lower elevations in the winter, and disperse in warmer weather when food is more abundant. The herds that they form arenot permanent, but are only temporary in nature. The only strong bonds reported among kiangs are between mothers and foals.

Kiangs spend much of the day grazing, and when they are not eating they are generally at rest. They also reportedly sometimes graze through the night.

Males mate with multiple females, and defend their territory aggressively at times. They engage in defensive shows, lifting their heads, flattening their long ears and braying loudly at interlopers in an effort to intimidate them. If this does not work, they may fight a rival male, kicking, biting, and chasing him away from the females in the herd.

Kiangs don’t have to frequent watering holes, because they get a lot of the moisture that they require from the plant materials they eat. They can go for several days without drinking water. However, when they do come to a river, they are likely to jump right in. They are good swimmers and can easily cross rivers and sometimes swim in the water just to cool off.  

Kiangs are also very fast runners. They have been observed chasing cars on the highway in China, running close to 40 miles per hour over long distances. They are known to put their running skills to use in their mating behavior, engaging in prolonged chases at high speeds.  

Diet

Kiangs eat mostly grasses, sedges, and other low-growing plants. They are not ruminants, like cattle. Because they have only a single-chambered stomach, they do not regurgitate and chew on cud. They rely on large quantities of vegetation to supply their nutritional needs. When the supply of food in higher elevations becomes sparse, they will move to lower elevations where grasses are more plentiful.

Reproduction

The mating season is from July to August. Mature males fight with one another and mate with multiple females in a herd. They defend their territory and the females in their group by running around them and keeping guard against intruders. They chase the females before mating, and sometimes their behavior causes young foals to be injured.

Females have only one foal at a time and their gestation period is roughly 12 months. Foals weigh about 75 to 80 pounds when they are born, and they are able to walk on their own a few hours following birth. Although females can breed again quickly after giving birth, it is typical for them to have a foal only every other year. The bond between a mother and her foal is very strong. The foal is weaned at approximately one year of age.    

Predators

Wolves are the only known predators of kiangs. Individuals within herds are difficult prey, because they stick mainly to open areas where visibility is high. When they spot a predator, they alert others in the herd with brays. Kiangs are fast runners. They can easily elude a wolf if it is spotted in time. The best chance a wolf has of killing a kiang is to catch a solitary individual outside a herd.

The greatest threats to kiangs are actually humans. Sadly, humans have long hunted and persecuted these animals. People and their livestock have also disrupted their range in many areas. Habitat degradation is probably the biggest threat to the species, as their food and water sources are blocked or taken for livestock.

Lifespan

Kiangs can live up to 20 years in the wild, and 30 years or more in captivity. Their most recent assessment by the IUCN Red List for Threatened Species lists them as a species of least concern. The estimated number of kiangs in the wild is between 60,000 and 70,000, with approximately 90 percent of the population living in China.

1. JIANG FUMEI, Available here: https://www.chinatoday.com.cn/ctenglish/2018/sl/201810/t20181011_800143912.html
2. IUCN Redlist, Available here: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/7953/45171635#geographic-range
3. William Moorcroft / Travels in the Himalayan Provinces, Available here: https://www.gbif.org/species/2440887