Facts about this animal
The kiang is a robust equine with an erect mane and an ass-like tail. It is the largest of the Asiatic wild asses reaching an average shoulder height of 150 cm. The ears are relatively short (17 cm). The coat is reddish brown in colour with whitish underparts and muzzle. It is smooth and short-haired in summer, and very shaggy in winter.
Did you know?
That kiangs live in herds that can number several hundred individuals? Such herds are made up of mares with their young and immature males and females. They are led by an older mare. Stallions tend to live alone or with other stallions, joining the herd only during the breeding season.
|Name (Scientific)||Equus kiang|
|Name (French)||Kiang, Ane sauvage du Tibet|
|Name (German)||Kiang, Tibetanischer Halbesel|
|CITES Status||Appendix II|
|CMS Status||Appendix II (as Equus hemionus sensu lato)|
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|Range||China, India, Nepal|
|Habitat||Dry open areas including desert, semidesert, or steppe|
|Wild population||Between 60.000-70.000 (2002) (Red List IUCN 2011)|
|Zoo population||On January 1, 2008, 124 kiangs were registered with the International Studbook.|
In the Zoo
How this animal should be transported
For air transport, Container Note 73 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations, should be followed.
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Why do zoos keep this animal
The kiang is still a lower risk species. It used to be, however, a rare species in zoos, and was therefore included into the International "Asiatic Wild Asses" Studbook, which was set up in 1961 under the auspices of WAZA primarily with a view to contributing to the conservation of the more endangered Asiatic wild ass subspecies. Zoos maintain now a self-sustained and steadily growing population of kiangs managed under regional conservation breeding programmes.