OHAPTEE Y. 



THE ASIATIC WILD ASS. 

 {Equus hemionus, Pallas). 



At the present time naturalists incline to the opinion that 

 there is but one distinct species of Asiatic wild ass, to 

 which they assign the name of Equus hemionus, first 

 bestowed on it by Pallas. In the list of animals that have 

 been exhibited in the gardens of the Zoological Society, 

 three species of the Asiatic wild ass are enumerated, 

 named respectively — (1) the Asiatic wild ass [E. onager), 

 the ghor-khur of Western India and Baluchistan; (2) the 

 Hemippe {E. hemippus) from Persia and Syria; and (3) 

 the Kiang {E. hemionus) from Tibet. The first two differ 

 but very little from one another, but the kiang or dzeg- 

 getai is stated by Mr. Blanford to be darker and redder 

 than the ghor-khur, and to have a narrower dorsal stripe, 

 although he agrees with Sykes, Blyth, and Flower in 

 regarding these three wild asses as constituting but varieties 

 of one species. 



The Asiatic wild ass inhabits the vast open plains that 

 exist in various parts of Asia, from Syria through Persia, 

 Afghanistan, the Punjab, and Tibet, right away to the 

 frontiers of China. It is usually found in herds varying 

 in number from four or five to thirty or forty individuals. 

 In the spring months the mares and foals sometimes collect 

 in vast numbers, and Dr. Aitchison, in his report on the 



