Sanjiangyuan Wolves surrounded hidden wild donkeys
On October 24, 2021, in the endless Sanjiangyuan Park, a staff member of the China Geological Survey took a wonderful scene full of wildness. The wolves composed of four wolves slowly approached the two animals, spreading tacitly, and slowly surrounding them. These two animals have extremely strong bodies, thick and powerful limbs, and tails look very similar to horses, but their heads are big and their ears are much longer than horses. They are a species unique to Qinghai-Tibet Plateau , Tibetan wild donkeys.
Tibetan wild donkeys are the largest of all wild donkeys. They live in a high-altitude desert area between 2700 and 5400 meters on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Their body length can grow to more than 2 meters, their shoulder height is about 1.3 meters, and their weight can reach 800 kilograms. Under the sun, it looks like a horse from a distance, so Tibetan wild donkeys are also called "wild horses" by local people.
Even though they were surrounded by wolves, the two Tibetan wild donkeys still looked calm. The wild wolf looked only as tall as their legs were. It was not until the wolves approached a dangerous distance that the Tibetan wild donkey seemed to realize that the wild wolf had bad intentions. The two Tibetan wild donkeys also began to trot. The wolf pack ran around, divided the two Tibetan wild donkeys, stared at one of them, and started hunting.
In the bleak cold wind, Tibetan wild donkeys began to run at full speed, Their running speed can reach 50 kilometers per hour, which is no different from the speed of wild wolves. A wild wolf wanted to run ahead to intercept the Tibetan wild donkey, but the Tibetan wild donkey suddenly made a flexibly turn and successfully left one wolf behind, but the other three wolves still chased each other reluctantly.
This hunting battle has become a test of endurance and will. The Tibetan wild donkey has excellent endurance. Even on a plateau with thin oxygen, it can run forty or fifty kilometers in one breath. The wolf's strength lies in the instant explosion and tacit cooperation. If there is no accident, the Tibetan wild donkey may be able to escape.
But there is a trap hidden in the seemingly smooth plateau, and snow covered the small holes on the ground. Tibetan wild donkey was determined to escape, but suddenly slipped and almost fell to the ground. Of course, the wolf pack would not miss this opportunity. It was instantly approaching to the point where it was close. Tibetan wild donkey was not willing to be outdone. It suddenly raised its hind hooves and kicked a wild wolf hard in the face, forcing it back.
However, the speed of the Tibetan wild donkey was also affected. A wild wolf jumped up suddenly and bit the lips of the Tibetan wild donkey, but was shaken off by the Tibetan wild donkey's head. However, The other wolves took this opportunity to complete the encirclement and ran on both sides of the Tibetan wild donkey, tacitly switching positions to preserve their physical strength, making the Tibetan wild donkey exhausted.
Tang wild donkey wanted to turn several times, but was blocked by the wild wolf rushing up by the accelerated wolf beside him, so he could only continue running in a straight line. Perhaps it was because of the slip just now that it hurt his leg, and the speed of the Tibetan wild donkey was not as stable as before, and he could never throw the wolf pack. After a period of hunting, the Tibetan wild donkey was successfully hunted by the wolves and became their on-the-trade meal.
However, wolves can only catch Tibetan wild donkeys that are lonely like this. Usually, Tibetan wild donkeys are moving in groups, ranging from five to six, and at most dozens. If is in the mating season, a large number of Tibetan wild donkeys will gather together to form a population of up to thousands. In Bazhou, Xinjiang, someone took a drone to take pictures of the Tibetan wild donkeys running. When they ran, they were like thousands of horses galloping, and even the wolves dared not fight each other head-on.
Wandering 20 kilometers a day, likes to race against cars
Tibetan wild donkeys do not lead the way by the leader like other animals, presenting a sharp arrow, but line up, running in a row, and sand and dust rise behind them. The leader of the donkey group followed behind, constantly correcting the unarranged wild donkey .
Tibetan wild donkeys have to wander more than 20 kilometers a day. They have a fixed path. They set off to the water source in the morning to drink water, go to the grassland to eat and rest, and return to the mountains to spend the night in the evening.
Small group of Tibetan wild donkeys are generally led by a strong male Tibetan wild donkey, and the rest of Tibetan wild donkeys are often their wives and children. When several groups of Tibetan wild donkeys are merged together, there will be a fight between the male donkeys until one of the male donkeys drives the other male donkeys out.
When they usually walk, they also form a long dragon, led by a male donkey, with the cub in the middle and the female donkey behind. This special way of traveling can help them better protect their young. Over time, the road they walk will also form an obvious "donkey path". When does not happen unexpectedly, the Tibetan wild donkeys will never leave the donkey path easily. The male donkeys leading by
must be alert all around. Tibetan wild donkeys have excellent hearing, smell and vision. They can detect movements in the distance even if they are hundreds of meters apart. If you encounter danger, the leader will not only command everyone to escape, but will also take the initiative to stay and cut off the rear to attract the enemy's attention.
However, they are very brave. A few wild wolves are basically not a threat to a donkey group. Even if the wild wolves are close, they still eat grass without rushing and look calm. If the wolves are not very hungry, they will not try to attack the donkey group. will sometimes form a strange scene of wolves and donkeys living in harmony on the grassland.
And Tibetan wild donkeys don’t seem to be afraid of people, and they even take the initiative to race against cars driven by humans. When the off-road vehicle drives by, the noise caused disturbs Tibetan wild donkeys. Their " donkey temper " will be immediately aroused, and they must surpass the off-road vehicle. After exceeds the car, they will look back again, as if they are declaring their strength, then turn their heads and continue running, and run and stop, always keeping a distance of more than 200 meters from the car.
Many drivers will slow down their speed when they encounter Tibetan wild donkeys and wait until they go away before continuing to move forward. Because it is said that if they keep racing against Tibetan wild donkeys, the competitive Tibetan wild donkey may even run to the point of exhaustion, and alveoli burst and die.
"Donkey gets water" helps animals through the dry season
On the plateau, you can often see some low-lying potholes, which are the "donkey wells" dug by Tibetan donkeys. The digestive ability of Tibetan wild donkeys is stronger than that of yak and Tibetan sheep in the same area. They can absorb more energy from the forage, and at the same time they can tolerate a few days of waterless life.
When the plateau ushers in the drought season, Tibetan wild donkeys will dig a well and get water by themselves. They can accurately find the location where the water level is higher, and then use the front hooves to start digging the well. The pit dug by the Tibetan wild donkey can be more than half a meter deep. The hidden groundwater seeps out, leaving a large puddle in place. is called the "donkey well" by the herdsmen.
In addition to the Tibetan wild donkeys who can drink enough water themselves, other animals on the plateau will also be attracted by the "donkey well". even has natural enemies such as brown bears and wild wolves. Every time a wild donkey comes back to drink water, if the water in the well becomes shallow, they will dig a little deeper down to always keep the water level stable.
Tiger wild donkeys and argali drink water together
When you can't drink water, animals can only get more water through food, which means that herbivores must eat more plants, and carnivorous animals must hunt more prey. The "donkey well" dug by wild donkeys also greatly reduces the distance between water sources and avoids the struggles of many animals over water resources.
Even if the animals drink the water seeped out of the "donkey well" dry, the "donkey well" is not completely useless. Some plants will grow tenaciously with the help of this Feng Shui treasure land. The existence of Tibetan wild donkeys and "donkey wells" is of great significance to the ecology on the plateau desert.
Plants grown in donkey well
References
"Transported wild donkeys There is a kind of unconvincing spirit" Dong Dehong
"The "big guy" running freely on the plateau-Transported wild donkeys" Du Yuqi
"Transported wild donkeys and let the wolf pack pass by" Zhu Jingen
"Transported wild donkeys, beautiful dancers on the Gobi grassland" Beigen
"Transported wild donkeys, running in the habitat of gods" Ma Bo
