Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 2 (1876).djvu/168

146 over it at a trot. Hundreds and thousands may be seen on a fine day disporting themselves in the open, or basking in the sun near their holes; and although destroyed by eagles, buzzards, and hawks, wolves, foxes, and steppe-foxes, they multiply so quickly as to make up for all losses.

The most remarkable animal of the steppes of Koko-nor is the wild ass or kulan, called djang by the Tangutans (Equus Kiang), in size and external appearance closely resembling the mule; the colour of the hair on the upper part of the body is light chestnut, and white underneath. We saw them first on the upper Tatung-gol, where the Kan-su mountains are unwooded, and the pasturage is good. The kulan ranges over Koko-nor, Tsaidam, and Northern Tibet, but it is found in the greatest numbers in the first-named country.

The steppes, however, are not its exclusive habitat; it is also found in the mountains wherever grass and water are abundant. We occasionally saw it on the lofty mountains of Northern Tibet, grazing with the kuku-yamans. The kulans mostly keep in troops of ten to fifty; larger herds of several hundred being only met with in the vicinity of Koko-nor; and it is not probable that they often congregate in such large numbers, for when seen by us they