Highest-living wild equid

The highest living wild equid is the kiang (Equus kiang). Native to the plains of the Tibetan Plateau, northern Nepal, and Ladakh in India, this sizeable, hardy species of Asian wild ass frequents montane, alpine meadows and broad valleys where grasses and sedges are abundant, as well as desert steppes. It has been recorded at a height of up to 5,431 m (17,818 ft) asl (above sea level) in south and central Tibet, as well as up to 5,400 m (17,717 ft) asl in Ladakh.

Standing up to 1.42 m (4 ft 8 in) at the withers in its eastern subspecies, the kiang is also the world's largest species of wild ass, with a body length of up to 2.14 m (7 ft), and like asses in general a proportionately large head. Adult males are larger than adult females, weighing up to 400 kg (880 lb), whereas females weigh up to 300 kg (660 lb). During the winter, the kiang grows a thick woolly coat that is twice the length of its summer coat, protecting it against the extreme cold prevalent during this season in its mountainous habitat.