These endangered Przewalski’s horses are part of an effort to return the species to the Central Asian plains they once roamed.
ADVERTISEMENT
For the first time in at least 200 years, wild Przewalski horses have returned to the golden steppe of Kazakhstan.
They are the last truly wild horses on the planet, whose habitats have been destroyed by agriculture and other human activities.
Today, the Prague Zoo has returned them to their original habitat on the plains of Central Asia.
What happened to the Przewalski horses of Central Asia?
At the beginning of June, a CASA plane from the Czech army landed in the center of Kazakhstan with four of these endangered animals on board. Tessa, Wespe, Umbra and Sary took an 18-hour flight from Berlin and a seven-hour truck ride to reach their new home.
A previous flight had brought a stallion, Zorro, and two mares, Zeta II and Ypsilonka, bringing the total number to seven.
Two large enclosures with a total area of 80 hectares were set up in Altyn Dala – the Kazakh name for the golden steppe. The horses will acclimatize to their new environment under the close supervision of researchers for a year.
Before being released into the wild, they must prove that they are resistant to frost and parasites and that they can find food under the deep snow that falls on the golden steppe in winter.
What is Przewalski’s horse?
Przewalski’s horses are considered the last truly wild horse on the planet, the other species, such as the American Mustang, being derived from domesticated animals. This species was once widespread in the vast steppes of Central Asia.
When they were discovered by the Russian geographer Nikolai Przewalski (or Prjevalski) in 1879 during his Tibetan expedition, their habitat had been reduced to a small area in western Mongolia. Competition from livestock, human activity and changes to their environment had virtually wiped them out.
After the Second World War, their numbers were so low that it became clear they were in danger of becoming extinct in the wild.
In 1959, a conference was held to find ways to save the species. The Prague Zoo was entrusted with the “international breeding” of these animals. By the late 1960s, they had completely disappeared from the wild, but their numbers were beginning to increase in human farms.
These are the descendants of these Przewalski horses which are today reintroduced into the wild in Kazakhstan.
The first Przewalski horses in Central Kazakhstan in hundreds of years
Prague Zoo has been working on the reintroduction of the species to Central Asia for 15 years.
“This is a historic event: the seven “Przewalski” that we transported here by two CASA planes represent the first individuals of this species in central Kazakhstan in hundreds of years”said Miroslav Bobek, director of the Prague Zoo, in a statement.
“With this double transport, we have taken a big step towards returning the last wild horse to another region where it was found in the past.”
Bobek added that the ultimate goal is to slowly transport at least 40 horses to this area to create a viable population. The zoo is preparing another transport to Kazakhstan next spring.
The zoo will also send some of Przewalski’s horses to Mongolia in 2026, where a reintroduction program has helped explode the population to more than 850 animals.
