More than 200 kiangs, a first-class State-protected species of ass, were recently photographed running across a prairie in Sunan Yugur autonomous county in Gansu province.

The kiang is a large herbivore whose range includes the alpine desert area of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. They usually live in groups with high vigilance for predators.

In recent years, with environmental protection efforts such as the restoration of grassland, the county has seen the populations of various kinds of wildlife rebound, including kiangs, snow leopards, white-lipped deer and black-necked cranes.

Video by Wu Xuefeng