Difference between revisions of "Kiang" - New World Encyclopedia
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[[Ekai Kawaguchi]], a Japanese monk who traveled in Tibet from July, 1900 to June 1902, described the kiang in this manner (Kawaguchi 1909): | [[Ekai Kawaguchi]], a Japanese monk who traveled in Tibet from July, 1900 to June 1902, described the kiang in this manner (Kawaguchi 1909): | ||
| − | <blockquote>"As I have already said, khyang is the name given by the Tibetans to the wild horse of their northern [[steppe]]s. More accurately it is a species of ass, quite as large in size as a large Japanese horse. In color it is reddish brown, with black hair on the ridge of the back and black mane and with the belly white. To all appearance it is an ordinary horse, except for its tufted tail. It is a powerful animal, and it is extraordinarily fleet | + | <blockquote>"As I have already said, khyang is the name given by the Tibetans to the wild horse of their northern [[steppe]]s. More accurately it is a species of ass, quite as large in size as a large Japanese horse. In color it is reddish brown, with black hair on the ridge of the back and black mane and with the belly white. To all appearance it is an ordinary horse, except for its tufted tail. It is a powerful animal, and it is extraordinarily fleet."</blockquote> |
| + | ==Distribution and habitat== | ||
| + | Its current range is restricted to northern [[Nepal]] along the [[Tibet]]an border.<ref>Sharma, et al. 2004</ref> | ||
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| + | ==Behavior== | ||
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| + | The only real predator other than humans is the wolf. Kiangs defend themselves by forming a circle and, with heads down kick out violently. As a result wolves usually attack single animals who have strayed from the group.<ref>''Tibet is My Country: Autobiography of Thubten Jigme Norbu, Brother of the Dalai Lama as told to Heinrich Harrer'', p. 152. First published in German in 1960. English translation by Edward Fitzgerald, published 1960. Reprint, with updated new chapter, (1986): Wisdom Publications, London. ISBN 0-86171-045-2.</ref> | ||
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| + | Kawaguchi (1909) described the behavior of the kiang from his travels in Tibet from 1900 to 1902: | ||
| + | <blockquote>"It is never seen singly, but always in twos or threes, if not in a herd of sixty or seventy. Its scientific name is ''Equus hemionis'', but is for the most part called by its Tibetan name, which is usually spelled ''khyang'' in English. It has a curious habit of turning round and round, when it comes within seeing distance of a man. Even a mile and a quarter away, it will commence this turning round at every short stage of its approach, and after each turn it will stop for a while, to look at the man over its own back, like a fox. Ultimately it comes up quite close. When quite near it will look scared, and at the slightest thing will wheel round and dash away, but only to stop and look back. When one thinks it has run far away, it will be found that it has circled back quite near, to take, as it were, a silent survey of the stranger from behind. Altogether it is an animal of very queer habits."</blockquote> | ||
| − | [[Thubten Jigme Norbu]], the elder brother of [[Tenzin Gyatso]] the 14th [[Dalai Lama]], reporting on his trip from [[Kumbum Monastery]] in [[Amdo]] to Lhasa in 1950, said that: | + | [[Thubten Jigme Norbu]], the elder brother of [[Tenzin Gyatso]] the 14th [[Dalai Lama]], reporting on his trip from [[Kumbum Monastery]] in [[Amdo]] to Lhasa in 1950, said that (Norbu and Harrer 1986): |
:"The kyangs or wild asses, live together in smaller groups, each headed by a stallion, lording it over anything from ten to fifty mares. I was struck by the noble appearance of these beasts; and, in particular, by the beautiful line of head and neck. Their coat is light brown on the back and whitish below the belly, and their long thin tails are almost black; the whole representing excellent camouflage against their natural background. They look wonderfully elegant and graceful when you see them darting across the steppes like arrows, heads stretched out and tails streaming away behind them in the wind. Their [[rutting]] season is in the autumn, and then the stallions are at their most aggressive as they jealously guard their harems. The fiercest and most merciless battles take place at this time of the year between the stallion installed and interlopers from other herds. When the battle is over the victor, himself bloody and bruised from savage bites and kicks, leads off the mares in a wild gallop over the steppe. | :"The kyangs or wild asses, live together in smaller groups, each headed by a stallion, lording it over anything from ten to fifty mares. I was struck by the noble appearance of these beasts; and, in particular, by the beautiful line of head and neck. Their coat is light brown on the back and whitish below the belly, and their long thin tails are almost black; the whole representing excellent camouflage against their natural background. They look wonderfully elegant and graceful when you see them darting across the steppes like arrows, heads stretched out and tails streaming away behind them in the wind. Their [[rutting]] season is in the autumn, and then the stallions are at their most aggressive as they jealously guard their harems. The fiercest and most merciless battles take place at this time of the year between the stallion installed and interlopers from other herds. When the battle is over the victor, himself bloody and bruised from savage bites and kicks, leads off the mares in a wild gallop over the steppe. | ||
: We would often see kyangs by the thousand spread over the hillsides and looking inquisitively at our caravan; sometimes they would even surround us, though keeping at some distance."<ref>''Tibet is My Country: Autobiography of Thubten Jigme Norbu, Brother of the Dalai Lama as told to Heinrich Harrer'', pp. 151-152. First published in German in 1960. English translation by Edward Fitzgerald, published 1960. Reprint, with updated new chapter, (1986): Wisdom Publications, London. ISBN 0-86171-045-2.</ref> | : We would often see kyangs by the thousand spread over the hillsides and looking inquisitively at our caravan; sometimes they would even surround us, though keeping at some distance."<ref>''Tibet is My Country: Autobiography of Thubten Jigme Norbu, Brother of the Dalai Lama as told to Heinrich Harrer'', pp. 151-152. First published in German in 1960. English translation by Edward Fitzgerald, published 1960. Reprint, with updated new chapter, (1986): Wisdom Publications, London. ISBN 0-86171-045-2.</ref> | ||
| − | + | * Norbu, T. J., and H. Harrer. 1986. ''Tibet is My Country''. London: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0861710452. (First published in German in 1960.) | |
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Revision as of 21:34, 6 February 2009
- For other uses, see Kiang (disambiguation).
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| Equus kiang Moorcroft, 1841 |
Kiang is the common name for a wild member of the horse family Equidae, Equus kiang, the largest of the wild asses, characterized by distinctive patches of white on the neck, chest, and shoulder, as well as long-legs and an erect mane. This odd-toed ungulate is native to the Tibetan Plateau, where it inhabits high-altitude montane and alpine grasslands, commonly from 2700 to 5300 meters elevation. Other common names for this species include Tibetan wild ass, khyang, and gorkhar.
Overview and description
The kiang (Equus kiang) is a member of the Equidae, a family of odd-toed ungulate mammals of horses and horse-like animals. There are three basic groups recognized in Equidae—horses, asses, and zebras—although all extant equids are in the same genus of Equus. The kiang is one of three or four extant species of asses, which are placed together in the subgenus Asinus. The other species known as asses are the African wild ass (E. africanus, sometimes E. asinus), donkey or ass (E. asinus), and onager (E. hemionus). The kiang is related to the onager (Equus hemionus) and in some classifications it is a subspecies of the onager, listed as E. hemionus kiang.
The kiang is the largest of the wild asses, with shoulder height of 100 to 142 centimeters (39-56 inches) (Grzimek et al. 2004). It has a large head, with a blunt muzzle and a convex nose. The mane is upright and relatively short.
A broad, dark chocolate-coloured dorsal stripe extends from the dark-colored mane to the end of the tail, which ends in a tuft of blackish brown hairs. The coat is a rich chestnut color, darker brown in winter and a sleek reddish brown in late summer, molting its woolly fur. The summer coat is 1.5 centimeters long and the winter coat is double the length. The legs, undersides, and ventral part of the nape, end of the muzzle, and the inside of the pinnae are all white. Kiang have very slight sexual dimorphism.
Ekai Kawaguchi, a Japanese monk who traveled in Tibet from July, 1900 to June 1902, described the kiang in this manner (Kawaguchi 1909):
"As I have already said, khyang is the name given by the Tibetans to the wild horse of their northern steppes. More accurately it is a species of ass, quite as large in size as a large Japanese horse. In color it is reddish brown, with black hair on the ridge of the back and black mane and with the belly white. To all appearance it is an ordinary horse, except for its tufted tail. It is a powerful animal, and it is extraordinarily fleet."
Distribution and habitat
Its current range is restricted to northern Nepal along the Tibetan border.[1]
Behavior
The only real predator other than humans is the wolf. Kiangs defend themselves by forming a circle and, with heads down kick out violently. As a result wolves usually attack single animals who have strayed from the group.[2]
Kawaguchi (1909) described the behavior of the kiang from his travels in Tibet from 1900 to 1902:
"It is never seen singly, but always in twos or threes, if not in a herd of sixty or seventy. Its scientific name is Equus hemionis, but is for the most part called by its Tibetan name, which is usually spelled khyang in English. It has a curious habit of turning round and round, when it comes within seeing distance of a man. Even a mile and a quarter away, it will commence this turning round at every short stage of its approach, and after each turn it will stop for a while, to look at the man over its own back, like a fox. Ultimately it comes up quite close. When quite near it will look scared, and at the slightest thing will wheel round and dash away, but only to stop and look back. When one thinks it has run far away, it will be found that it has circled back quite near, to take, as it were, a silent survey of the stranger from behind. Altogether it is an animal of very queer habits."
Thubten Jigme Norbu, the elder brother of Tenzin Gyatso the 14th Dalai Lama, reporting on his trip from Kumbum Monastery in Amdo to Lhasa in 1950, said that (Norbu and Harrer 1986):
- "The kyangs or wild asses, live together in smaller groups, each headed by a stallion, lording it over anything from ten to fifty mares. I was struck by the noble appearance of these beasts; and, in particular, by the beautiful line of head and neck. Their coat is light brown on the back and whitish below the belly, and their long thin tails are almost black; the whole representing excellent camouflage against their natural background. They look wonderfully elegant and graceful when you see them darting across the steppes like arrows, heads stretched out and tails streaming away behind them in the wind. Their rutting season is in the autumn, and then the stallions are at their most aggressive as they jealously guard their harems. The fiercest and most merciless battles take place at this time of the year between the stallion installed and interlopers from other herds. When the battle is over the victor, himself bloody and bruised from savage bites and kicks, leads off the mares in a wild gallop over the steppe.
- We would often see kyangs by the thousand spread over the hillsides and looking inquisitively at our caravan; sometimes they would even surround us, though keeping at some distance."[3]
- Norbu, T. J., and H. Harrer. 1986. Tibet is My Country. London: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0861710452. (First published in German in 1960.)
Classification and subspecies
External links
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- ↑ Sharma, et al. 2004
- ↑ Tibet is My Country: Autobiography of Thubten Jigme Norbu, Brother of the Dalai Lama as told to Heinrich Harrer, p. 152. First published in German in 1960. English translation by Edward Fitzgerald, published 1960. Reprint, with updated new chapter, (1986): Wisdom Publications, London. ISBN 0-86171-045-2.
- ↑ Tibet is My Country: Autobiography of Thubten Jigme Norbu, Brother of the Dalai Lama as told to Heinrich Harrer, pp. 151-152. First published in German in 1960. English translation by Edward Fitzgerald, published 1960. Reprint, with updated new chapter, (1986): Wisdom Publications, London. ISBN 0-86171-045-2.
- Equid Specialist Group 1996. [1]. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species., World Conservation Union. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
- Duncan, P. (ed.). 1992. Zebras, Asses, and Horses: an Action Plan for the Conservation of Wild Equids. IUCN/SSC Equid Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
- Sharma, Benktesh Dash, Jan Clevers, Reitze De Graaf, and Nawa Raj Chapagain, 2004. Mapping Equus kiang (Tibetan Wild Ass) Habitat in Surkhang, Upper Mustang, Nepal. Mountain Research and Development. Vol 24(2): 149–156.
- Shah, N., St. Louis, A., Huibin, Z., Bleisch, W., van Gruissen, J. & Qureshi, Q. 2008. Equus kiang. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 06 February 2009.
- Grzimek, B., D. G. Kleiman, V. Geist, and M. C. McDade, Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Detroit: Thomson-Gale, 2004. ISBN 0307394913.
- Moehlman, P. D. 2004. Equidae. In B. Grzimek, D. G. Kleiman, V. Geist, and M. C. McDade, Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Detroit: Thomson-Gale, 2004. ISBN 0307394913.
- Moehlman, P. D., H. Yohannes, R. Teclai, and F. Kebede. 2008. Equus africanus. In IUCN, 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
- Savage, R. J. G., and M. R. Long. 1986. Mammal Evolution: An Illustrated Guide. New York: Facts on File. ISBN 081601194X.
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- ↑ Kawaguchi, Ekai (1909): Three Years in Tibet, pp. 131, 133. Reprint: Book Faith India (1995), Delhi. ISBN 81-7303-036-7
