THE WILD ASSES 
Of the Asiatic wild ass there appear to be three well-marked varieties, 
whose many local names have created no little confusion. The largest is 
the kiang, koulan, or dziggettai of Tibet and Mongolia, which is dark 
reddish in color, with a narrow black stripe from (and including) the mane 
along the spine to the top of the tail; it inhabits central-Asian mountains 
up to the snow line, and has in winter a special furry and whitish coat. 
The second is the ghorkhar or onager, frequenting the plains of north- 
western India, Afghanistan, and Beluchistan, which is smaller and paler, 
sometimes silvery white, and has a comparatively broad dorsal stripe. 
The third variety, less well marked, is that of Persia and Syria, and is the 
one known to the writers of the Old Testament, who use it as a type of wild- 
ness and freedom ( Job xxxix. 6, 7, 8). 
The African ass ranges throughout the open regions of northeastern 
Africa, from Somaliland to the Red Sea, and westward throughout the 
desert, where its food and habits are much like those of the ghorkhar, ex- 
cept that its small troops do not congregate into herds and all show an aver- 
sion to entering water, preferring to roll in the dust; the Somaliland variety is 
paler, and has excited much interest among sportsmen. Baker de- 
clared of the wild ass of the Nubian deserts: ‘‘The animal in its native 
desert is the perfection of activity and courage; there is a high-bred tone 
in the deportment, a high-actioned step when it trots freely over the rocks 
and sand with the speed of a horse. When it gallops freely over the bound- 
less desert, no animal is more difficult to approach; and although they are 
frequently captured by the Arabs, those taken are invariably the foals, 
which are run down by the fast dromedaries, while the mothers escape.” 
The habits of all these animals — asses, zebras, and horses 
— are much alike in the wilderness, for all now live in substan- 
tially the same circumstances. They go about in small bands, 
each dominated by a powerful stallion, which sometimes as- 
semble in great herds, and seem most at home on lofty, dry 
plateaus. Their speed is great, so that they are able to travel 
long distances between their pastures and the watering places 
which must be visited at least once a day — usually after dark. 
In Africa the presence of zebras is regarded by travelers as a 
sure indication that water is not far distant. 
“The Asiatic wild ass,’’ Lydekker informs us, ‘‘is remarkable for its 
fleetness and its capacity for getting over rough and stony ground at a great 
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