The kiang (''Equus kiang'') is the largest of the ''
Asinus
''Asinus'' is a subgenus of '' Equus'' (single-toed (hooved) grazing animal) that encompasses several subspecies of the Equidae commonly known as wild asses, characterized by long ears, a lean, straight-backed build, lack of a true withers, a ...
'' subgenus. It is native to the
Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Ti ...
, where it inhabits
montane and alpine grasslands. Its current range is restricted to the plains of the
Tibetan plateau
The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Ti ...
;
Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...
; and northern
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
. Other
common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...
s for this species include Tibetan wild ass, khyang and gorkhar.
Travellers' accounts of the kiang are one inspiration for the
unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead.
In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...
.
Characteristics
![Kiang of Tibet (Kiang Equus) from the book entitled, The great and small game of India, Burma, and Tibet (1900) (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Kiang_of_Tibet_%28Kiang_Equus%29_from_the_book_entitled%2C_The_great_and_small_game_of_India%2C_Burma%2C_and_Tibet_%281900%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The kiang is the largest of the wild asses, with an average height at the withers of . They range from high at the withers, with a body long, and a tail of . Kiangs have only slight
sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...
, with the males weighing from , while females weigh . They have a large head, with a blunt muzzle and a convex nose. The mane is upright and relatively short. The coat is a rich chestnut colour, darker brown in winter and a sleek reddish brown in late summer, when the animal moults its woolly fur. The summer coat is 1.5 cm long and the winter coat is double that length. The legs, underparts, end of the muzzle, and the inside of the ears are all white. A broad, dark chocolate-coloured dorsal stripe extends from the mane to the end of the tail, which ends in a tuft of blackish brown hairs.
Evolution
![Equus eisenmannae](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Equus_eisenmannae.JPG)
The genus ''Equus'', which includes all extant equines, is believed to have evolved from ''
Dinohippus
''Dinohippus'' (Greek: "Terrible horse") is an extinct equid which was endemic to North America from the late Hemphillian stage of the Miocene through the Zanclean stage of the Pliocene (10.3—3.6 mya) and in existence for approximately . Foss ...
'', via the intermediate form ''
Plesippus
''Plesippus'' is a genus of extinct horse from the Pleistocene of North America. Although commonly seen as a subgenus of ''Equus'' recent cladistic analysis considers it a distinct genus.
Species
Two species are recognized by Barron et al. (201 ...
''. One of the oldest species is ''
Equus simplicidens
The Hagerman horse (''Equus simplicidens''), also called the Hagerman zebra or the American zebra, was a North American species of equid from the Pliocene epoch and the Pleistocene epoch. It was one of the oldest horses of the genus ''Equus'' and ...
'', described as zebra-like with a donkey-shaped head. The oldest fossil to date is ~3.5 million years old from Idaho, USA. The genus appears to have spread quickly into the Old World, with the similarly aged ''Equus livenzovensis'' documented from western Europe and Russia.
Molecular phylogenies indicate the most recent common ancestor of all modern equids (members of the genus ''Equus'') lived ~5.6 (3.9–7.8) mya. Direct paleogenomic sequencing of a 700,000-year-old middle Pleistocene horse metapodial bone from Canada implies a more recent 4.07 Myr before present date for the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) within the range of 4.0 to 4.5 Myr BP.
The oldest divergencies are the Asian hemiones (subgenus ''E. (
Asinus
''Asinus'' is a subgenus of '' Equus'' (single-toed (hooved) grazing animal) that encompasses several subspecies of the Equidae commonly known as wild asses, characterized by long ears, a lean, straight-backed build, lack of a true withers, a ...
)'', including the
kulan,
onager
The onager (; ''Equus hemionus'' ), A new species called the kiang (''E. kiang''), a Tibetan relative, was previously considered to be a subspecies of the onager as ''E. hemionus kiang'', but recent molecular studies indicate it to be a distinct ...
, and kiang), followed by the African zebras (subgenera ''E. (
Dolichohippus)'', and ''E. (
Hippotigris
Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zeb ...
)''). All other modern forms including the domesticated horse (and many fossil
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58[Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...](_blank)
forms) belong to the subgenus ''E. (
Equus)'' which diverged ~4.8 (3.2–6.5) million years ago.
Taxonomy
The kiang is closely related to the
onager
The onager (; ''Equus hemionus'' ), A new species called the kiang (''E. kiang''), a Tibetan relative, was previously considered to be a subspecies of the onager as ''E. hemionus kiang'', but recent molecular studies indicate it to be a distinct ...
(''Equus hemionus''), and in some classifications it is considered a subspecies, ''E. hemionus kiang''. Molecular studies, however, indicate that it is a distinct species.
An even closer relative, however, may be the extinct ''
Equus conversidens
''Equus conversidens'', or the Mexican horse, is a dubious Pleistocene species of horse, now extinct, that inhabited North America.
The holotype of ''Equus conversidens'', a partial palate, was unearthed in Pleistocene deposits northeast of Mexi ...
'' of Pleistocene America,
to which it bears a number of striking similarities; however, such a relationship would require kiangs to have crossed
Beringia
Beringia is defined today as the land and maritime area bounded on the west by the Lena River in Russia; on the east by the Mackenzie River in Canada; on the north by 72 degrees north latitude in the Chukchi Sea; and on the south by the tip ...
during the Ice Age, for which little evidence exists. Kiangs can crossbreed with onagers,
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
s,
donkey
The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...
s, and
Burchell's zebra
Burchell's zebra (''Equus quagga burchellii'') is a southern subspecies of the plains zebra. It is named after the British explorer and naturalist William John Burchell. Common names include bontequagga, Damaraland zebra, and Zululand zebra (John ...
s in captivity, although, like
mule
The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two pos ...
s, the resulting offspring are sterile. Kiangs have never been domesticated.
[
]
Distribution and habitat
Kiangs are found on the Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Ti ...
, between the Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
s in the south and the Kunlun Mountains
The Kunlun Mountains ( zh, s=昆仑山, t=崑崙山, p=Kūnlún Shān, ; ug, كۇئېنلۇن تاغ تىزمىسى / قۇرۇم تاغ تىزمىسى ) constitute one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending for more than . In the bro ...
in the north. This restricts them almost entirely to China, but numbers up to 2500 to 3000 are found across the borders in the Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...
and Sikkim
Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...
regions of India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, and smaller numbers along the northern frontier of Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
.
Three subspecies of kiangs are currently recognised:[
* ''E. k. kiang'' — western kiang (]Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
, Ladakh, southwestern Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
)
* ''E. k. holdereri'' — eastern kiang (Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
, southeastern Xinjiang)
* ''E. k. polyodon'' — southern kiang (southern Tibet, Nepalese border)
The eastern kiang is the largest subspecies; the southern kiang is the smallest. The western kiang is slightly smaller than the eastern and also has a darker coat. However, no genetic information confirms the validity of the three subspecies, which may simply represent a cline
Cline may refer to:
Science
* Cline (biology), a measurable gradient in a single trait in a species across its geographical range
* Cline (hydrology), a fluid layer with a property that varies
* Cline (mathematics) or generalised circle, a circl ...
, with gradual variation between the three forms.[
Kiangs inhabit alpine meadows and ]steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the temperate grasslands, ...
country between 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 herbivore
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...
s, feeding on grasses and sedges, especially ''Stipa
''Stipa'' is a genus of around 300 large perennial hermaphroditic grasses collectively known as feather grass, needle grass, and spear grass. They are placed in the subfamily Pooideae and the tribe Stipeae, which also contains many species form ...
'', 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
''Oxytropis'' is a genus of plants in the legume family. It is one of three genera of plants known as locoweeds, and are notorious for being toxic to grazing animals. The other locoweed genus is the closely related ''Astragalus''. There are ab ...
'' 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.[
Their only real predator other than humans is the ]Himalayan wolf
The Himalayan wolf (''Canis lupus chanco'') is a canine of debated taxonomy. It is distinguished by its genetic markers, with mitochondrial DNA indicating that it is genetically basal to the Holarctic gray wolf, genetically the same wolf as t ...
. 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.[ Kiangs sometimes gather together in large herds, which may number several hundred individuals. However, these herds are not permanent groupings, but temporary aggregations, consisting either of young males only, or of mothers and their foals. Older males are typically solitary, defending a territory of about from rivals, and dominating any local groups of females. Territorial males sometimes become aggressive towards intruders, kicking and biting at them, but more commonly chase them away after a threat display that involves flattening the ears and braying.][
]
Reproduction
Kiangs mate between late July and late August, when older males tend reproductive females by trotting around them, and then chasing them prior to mating. The length of gestation
Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregna ...
has been variously reported as seven to 12 months, and results in the birth of a single foal. Females are able to breed again almost immediately after birth, although births every other year are more common. Foals weigh up to at birth, and are able to walk within a few hours. The age of sexual maturity is unknown, although probably around three or four years, as it is in the closely related onager. Kiang live for up to 20 years in the wild.[
]
Travellers' accounts
Natural historian Chris Lavers points to travellers' tales of the kiang as one source of inspiration for the unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead.
In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...
, first described in Indika
Indika may refer to:
* An alternate name of Megasthenes' ''Indica''
People
* Indika Anuruddha, Sri Lankan politician
* Indika Bandaranayake (b. 1972), Sri Lankan politician
* Indika Basnayake (b. 1979), Sri Lankan cricketer
* Indika Batuwitara ...
by the Ancient Greek physician Ctesias
Ctesias (; grc-gre, Κτησίας; fl. fifth century BC), also known as Ctesias of Cnidus, was a Greek physician and historian from the town of Cnidus in Caria, then part of the Achaemenid Empire.
Historical events
Ctesias, who lived in the fi ...
.
Ekai Kawaguchi
(February 26, 1866 – February 24, 1945) was a Japanese Buddhist monk who was famed for his four journeys to Nepal (in 1899, 1903, 1905 and 1913) and two to Tibet (July 4, 1900–June 15, 1902, 1913–1915). He was the first recorded J ...
, a Japanese monk who traveled in Tibet from July, 1900 to June 1902, reported:
:"As I have already said, khyang is the name given by the Tibetans to the wild horse of their northern steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the temperate grasslands, ...
s. More accurately it is a species of ass, quite as large in size as a large Japanese horse. In color it is reddish brown, with black hair on the ridge of the back and black mane and with the belly white. To all appearance it is an ordinary horse, except for its tufted tail. It is a powerful animal, and it is extraordinarily fleet. It is never seen singly, but always in twos or threes, if not in a herd of sixty or seventy. Its scientific name is ''Equus hemionis'', but is for the most part called by its Tibetan name, which is usually spelled ''khyang'' in English. It has a curious habit of turning round and round, when it comes within seeing distance of a man. Even a mile and a quarter away, it will commence this turning round at every short stage of its approach, and after each turn it will stop for a while, to look at the man over its own back, like a fox. Ultimately it comes up quite close. When quite near it will look scared, and at the slightest thing will wheel round and dash away, but only to stop and look back. When one thinks it has run far away, it will be found that it has circled back quite near, to take, as it were, a silent survey of the stranger from behind. Altogether it is an animal of very queer habits."[Kawaguchi, Ekai (1909): ''Three Years in Tibet'', pp. 131, 133. Reprint: Book Faith India (1995), Delhi. ]
Thubten Jigme Norbu
Thubten Jigme Norbu () (August 16, 1922 – September 5, 2008), recognised as the Taktser Rinpoche, was a Tibetan lama, writer, civil rights activist and professor of Tibetan studies and was the eldest brother of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin G ...
, the elder brother of Tenzin Gyatso
The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...
the 14th Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...
, reporting on his trip from Kumbum Monastery
Kumbum Monastery (, THL ''Kumbum Jampa Ling''), also called Ta'er Temple, is a Tibetan gompa in Lusar, Huangzhong County, Xining, Qinghai, China. It was founded in 1583 in a narrow valley close to the village of Lusar in the historical Tibeta ...
in Amdo
Amdo ( am˥˥.to˥˥ ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being U-Tsang in the west and Kham in the east. Ngari (including former Guge kingdom) in the north-west was incorporated into Ü-Tsang. Amdo is also the bi ...
to Lhasa in 1950, said:
:"The kyangs or wild asses, live together in smaller groups, each headed by a stallion, lording it over anything from 10 to 50 mares. I was struck by the noble appearance of these beasts, and in particular, by the beautiful line of head and neck. Their coat is light brown on the back and whitish below the belly, and their long, thin tails are almost black; the whole representing excellent camouflage against their natural background. They look wonderfully elegant and graceful when you see them darting across the steppes like arrows, heads stretched out and tails streaming away behind them in the wind. Their rutting season is in the autumn, and then the stallions are at their most aggressive as they jealously guard their harems. The fiercest and most merciless battles take place at this time of the year between the stallion installed and interlopers from other herds. When the battle is over, the victor, himself bloody and bruised from savage bites and kicks, leads off the mares in a wild gallop over the steppe.
:We would often see kyangs by the thousand spread over the hillsides and looking inquisitively at our caravan; sometimes they would even surround us, though keeping at some distance."[''Tibet is My Country: Autobiography of Thubten Jigme Norbu, Brother of the Dalai Lama as told to Heinrich Harrer'', pp. 151–152. First published in German in 1960. English translation by Edward Fitzgerald, published 1960. Reprint, with updated new chapter, (1986): Wisdom Publications, London. .]
References
Further reading
Kiang - ''Equus kiang''; IUCN/SSC Equid Specialist Group; Species Survival Groups
* Duncan, P. (ed.). 1992. Zebras, Asses, and Horses: an Action Plan for the Conservation of Wild Equids. IUCN/SSC Equid Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
External links
{{Authority control
Asinus
Donkey breeds
Herbivorous mammals
Pleistocene horses
Mammals of Pakistan
Mammals of Nepal
Mammals of Tibet
Mammals of Bhutan
Fauna of Ladakh
Fauna of the Himalayas
Mammals described in 1841