THE ASIATIC WILD ASS. ;i5 



north of the great Himalayan ranges ; first upon the E,upfcher 

 plains and in the neighbourhood of the Salt Lakes, often in 

 company with the Ovis ammon or ' nyan.' I have also seen 

 them north of the Pang-Kong lake. The passes from Hindustan 

 into Tibet are never open before June, when I have seen flocks 

 of the kiang feeding almost entirely on the roots of a species of 

 artemisia, or wormwood. Their natural enemies besides man 

 seemed to be a panther, which lurks amongst the rocks, and a 

 large species of wolf. I have found their skeletons on the melt- 

 ing of the snow. Beyond the Pang-Kong lake I was informed 

 that in winter many of them were to be seen in the Shap-Yok 

 valley, in company with wild yaks or dong, also the ' nyan ' 

 {Ovis ammon) and the ' sus,' or Tibetan antelope {Paiithalops 

 hodgsoni). A few tamarisk bushes seem then to support them, 

 and at the end of winter all these animals are spoken of as being- 

 like walking skeletons. I have sometimes approached flocks of 

 kiang quite close, at other times could not get within a mile of 

 them. On one occasion two kiangs followed a pony on which I 

 had a servant mounted ; in fact, kept so close that my servant 

 feared they were going to attack him. I never could ascertain 

 satisfactorily when the kiang breeds ; but I think it must bring- 

 forth in winter, for I have seen a mare shot with a young one in 

 the womb, nearly mature, in August ; and in the many flocks 1 

 have met with running wild I never perceived a foal that I 

 should have taken to be of less than six months old. When very 

 young the hair of the foal has the appearance of wool. The 

 winter coat of the adult is also very thick and curly, and is of 

 darker colour than its summer coat. It appears to shed its 

 winter coat in May. The kiang may be said to inhabit plains 

 and undulating hills, at from 15,000ft. to 16,500ft. above the 

 sea ; if found in the steeper hills they have been driven there. 

 It is most wonderful to see the rapidity with which they can 

 ascend mountains, and although they descend quickly I never 

 saw one lose its footing. After they have been pursued for 

 some time on the hills and driven on to the plains, they will 

 frequently make a charge past you at about 100 yards distance 

 in preference to ascending the steep parts again, thus showing 



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