# Kiang (*Equus kiang*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/kiang  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The kiang (Equus kiang), also called the Tibetan wild ass or gorkhar, is a mammal of the family Equidae in the order Perissodactyla. It is a giant terrestrial herbivore with an adult body mass of 275 kg, and our sources report values from 262.5 kg to 350 kg. The kiang lives in grassland and shrubland habitats and has a cathemeral activity pattern. Its gestation period is 304.4 days, it has 1 young per litter, it reaches sexual maturity at 3 years, and it is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 262.5 kg – 350 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 30 years – 38.8 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | grassland, shrubland |
| Gestation | 304 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Age at maturity | 2.74 years – 3.25 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 0.585 |
| Active | Day and night (cathemeral) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Perissodactyla
- family: Equidae
- genus: Equus
- species: *Equus kiang* Moorcroft, 1841

Synonyms: *Asinus equioides*, *Asinus hemionus*, *Asinus kiang*, *Asinus kyang*, *Asinus polydon*, *Equus equioides*, *Equus hemionus kiang*, *Equus hemionus kiang*, *Equus kyang*, *Equus nepalensis*, *Equus tafeli*, *Hemionus kiang*, *Hemionus nepalensis*, *Microhippus tafeli*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is a kiang?

The kiang is a mammal of the family Equidae in the order Perissodactyla. It is also called the Tibetan wild ass.

### How heavy is a kiang?

An adult kiang has a body mass of 275 kg, with values from 262.5 kg to 350 kg reported by our sources.

### What does a kiang eat?

The kiang is a herbivore.

### What habitat does the kiang live in?

The kiang lives in grassland and shrubland, and it is terrestrial.

### Is the kiang endangered?

No. The kiang is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a kiang live?

The kiang has a lifespan of 30 years, and our sources report up to 38.8 years.

### How many young does a kiang have?

A kiang has 1 young per litter, after a gestation period of 304.4 days, with 0.585 litters per year.

### Who named the kiang?

The kiang, Equus kiang, was named by Moorcroft, 1841.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Kiang (Equus kiang). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/kiang