Photo by J. W. McLellan] [Highbury.
BALUCHI WILD ASS.
This is one of the three leading varieties of the Asiatic wild ass. It is found in Western India and Baluchistan.
The wild asses of the desert plains of India and Persia are said to be very wary and difficult to approach, but the kiang of Tibet is always spoken of as a much more confiding animal, its curiosity being so great that it will frequently approach to within a short distance of any unfamiliar object, such as a sportsman engaged in stalking other game.
Asiatic wild asses usually live in small families of four or five, but sometimes congregate in herds. Their food consists of various grasses in the low-lying portions of their range, but of woody plants on the high mountain-plateaux, where little else is to be obtained. Of wild asses in general the late Sir Samuel Baker once said: "Those who have seen donkeys only in their civilised state can have no conception of the wild or original animal; it is the perfection of activity and courage."
Photo by the Duchess of Bedford] [Woburn Abbey.
MALE KIANG.
The kiang comes from the Tibetan highlands. It is the largest and most horse-like of the wild asses of Asia.