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path, securely on the other side of the valley from their original location, do the animals
settle for putting distance between the vehicle and themselves. I have heard similar tales
of this behavior as often as I have seen it myself. When in a vehicle observing them, it
is entirely predictable that any group of Tibetan wild ass within a few hundred meters
will seemingly go well out of its way to spray a moving vehicle with the dust from their
galloping hooves. It is easy to imagine how forming a large band and galloping away
for all they're worth would be an adaptive response to their primary predator, the wolf.
But I have yet to hear an explanation that satisfactorily relates this particular reaction to
natural (or even artificial) selection in an evolutionary context. Although it cannot pos-
sibly be correct, it certainly looks as though these wild ass simply want to show that, no
matter that you are motorized and they are not, at least on these high-elevation steppes
they are not to be outrun. Either that or they are showing that, regardless of which side
of the valley your vehicle is traveling down, it is, according to the considered opinion of
the equine world, the wrong side.
The Tibetan wild ass is now generally recognized as a unique species, closely related
to, but separate from, the Asiatic wild ass, E. hemionus , and the Indian wild ass, E. khur. 142
Its present abundance is unknown, and with good reason: it occupies an enormous range
of over 2 million km 2 , frequently moves long distances, and joins and leaves other ass
groups with ease, so extensive aerial surveys would be required to produce a valid estimate
of its numbers. Chinese scientists guessed there were 200,000 in the late 1980s; George
Schaller estimated there were about 60-70,000 in the mid-1990s; yet both Chinese sci-
entists and Schaller agree that its numbers increased during that time period. 143 Clearly,
this species remains numerous but poorly quantified.
We are fairly certain that Tibetan wild ass declined in number during most of the twen-
tieth century: we know that hundreds were slaughtered in Gansu and Qinghai during the
military-organized meat hunts that attempted to mitigate the great famines of 1959-61. 144
Since that time, however, there are plenty of indications that Tibetan wild ass have in-
creased. We lack rigorous population estimates, so have little choice but to infer these
trends from a skeptical eye trained on anecdotal data. Data consumer beware: these trends
could be wrong. That said, the fact that—informal and unquantified as they are—reports
from so many local pastoralists, staff at nature reserves, and staff at international hunting
areas point to a recent increase in Tibetan wild ass is highly suggestive. 145 The range of
the species, formerly restricted to China and Ladakh, has recently expanded to include
northern Nepal. Add to this the fact that Tibetan wild ass have a broad taste in acceptable
habitats, from quasi-desert shrubland to alpine steppe. As long as there is sufficient grass
and sufficient open space to run from danger, wild ass can subsist. Since the late 1990s,
with the confiscation of firearms, poaching has become more difficult. But even prior to
that time, poaching of Tibetan wild ass (again, with the notable exception of the slaugh-
ter associated with the Great Leap Forward) was never common. Tibetan hunters have
generally preferred other species to wild ass, 146 and Mongols, despite their rich hunting
culture, have similarly prioritized eating other species. 147 Kazaks, never numerous within
the range of Tibetan wild ass (living primarily in the range of the Asiatic wild ass) have
traditionally killed asses for meat, but never in large numbers.
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