Shangzhen Fan's Image

Heavy snow blankets the desert. As patches begin to melt, a small group of kiangs stride out in search of grass. To get to kiang territory, Shangzhen climbed to an altitude of 4,300 metres carrying his heavy gear. ‘Every move was a big challenge,’ he says.

Kiangs are large wild asses mainly found on or around the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. Although their population is stable, it is widely fragmented across the territory and increasingly threatened. As rangelands are turned into private ranches and fenced off from wildlife, kiangs lose access to key food sources.