THE LIFE OF MAMMALS 
pace.... The food of these wild asses consists in the lowlands of differ- 
ent kinds of grasses, which are frequently dry; but in Thibet it is chiefly 
composed of various woody plants, which form the main vegetation of these 
arid regions. In the hills to the west of the Indus these animals are to be 
found wandering pretty well throughout the year; but in the early summer, 
when the grass and the water in the pools have dried up from the hot winds, 
the greater number, if not all, of the ghorkhars migrate to the hills for grass 
NUBIAN WILD Ass. 
and water. It is stated that in western India and Persia the wild asses are 
very shy and difficult to approach. This is, however, by no means the 
case with the kiang of western Thibet, which is one of the most curious 
and inquisitive of all animals, frequently approaching within fifty yards 
or less of any strange object. Indeed, these asses are often a positive nui- 
sance to the sportsman, as they will come to him as he is engaged in a stalk, 
and thus alarm and drive away his quarry. In Ladak I have frequently 
ridden among a herd of kiangs who would gallop close around my pony in 
circles; and on one occasion a kiang, apparently actuated by extreme curios- 
ity, walked straight into the middle of my camp, where the cooking was going 
368 : 
