KIANG OR TIBETAN WILD ASS
Scientific Name : Equus kiang
The kiang (Equus kiang) is the largest of the wild asses. Other common names for this species include Tibetan Wild Ass, khyang and gorkhar
Distribution :
It is native to the Tibetan Plateau, where it inhabits montane and alpine grasslands. Its current range is restricted to Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, plains of the Tibetan plateau and northern Nepal along the Tibetan border.
Kiangs are found on the Tibetan Plateau, between the Himalayas in the south and the Kunlun Mountains in the north. This restricts them almost entirely to China, but small numbers are found across the borders in the Ladakh and Sikkim regions of India, and along the northern frontier of Nepal
Habitat :
Kiangs inhabit alpine meadows and steppe country between 2,700 and 5,300 m (8,900 and 17,400 ft) elevation.
They prefer relatively flat plateaus, wide valleys, and low hills, dominated by grasses, sedges, and smaller amounts of other low-lying vegetation. This open terrain, in addition to supplying them with suitable forage absent in the more arid regions of central Asia, may make it easier for them to detect, and flee from, predators
Behavior :
Like all equids, kiangs are herbivores, feeding on grasses and sedges, especially Stipa, but also including other local plants such as bog sedges, true sedges, and meadow grasses.
When little grass is available, such as during winter or in the more arid margins of their native habitat, they have been observed eating shrubs, herbs, and even Oxytropis roots, dug from the ground. Although they do sometimes drink from waterholes, such sources of water are rare on the Tibetan Plateau, and they likely obtain most of their water from the plants they eat, or possibly from snow in winter.
Food Chain / Web :
Their 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 that have strayed from the group