Animal Spotlight: Przewalski's Horse

by Salvosam via Wikipedia - used under Creative
Commons License

                                                     

Physical Characteristics: Przewalski's Horses grow to be 12-14 hands high, and are stockier than most other horses. They usually weigh between 550 and 750 pounds Their coloring is light to dark brown, with faint striping on their legs.

Habitat: Przewalski's Horses live in semi-desert environments. There has been much debate about the preferred habitat of the horses: some say that they only lived in semi-desert habitats because they were forced out of other habitats due to urban growth.

Diet: They are herbivores, but they tend to have seasonal food preferences based on what grows during particular seasons.

Behavior: Przewalski's Horses live in small, permanent family groups. Younger members stay in the group until they are no longer dependent, at which point bachelor stallions join bachelor groups. Members of a family group communicate with each other via scent marking, visual and tactile signs, and vocalizations.

The Threat to Their Population

Przewalski's (pronunciation: sheh-VAHL-skee) Horse is the last living breed of wild horses. They are also the only breed of wild horses never to be domesticated. Originally they were found in regions around Poland, Germany, Russia, Mongolia, and China. About 100 years ago, their populations started dwindling, mostly due to habitat destruction and hunting. They were listed as extinct in the wild in the 1960's. They survived only in zoos and wildlife preserves until the 1990's, when reserves began releasing excess horses back into the wild.

via Wikipedia - used under Creative Commons License

In 2008, a reassessment was conducted to decide whether or not the status should be changed. Przewalski's Horses had been successfully reintroduced to the wild several times, which led the status to be changed from extinct to critically endangered. Roughly 400 horses now exist in the wild thanks to reintroduction efforts. Reintroduction sites include: Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and China. Because the wild population is still so small, the largest risk the newly integrated animals face is loss of genetic diversity, and risk of hybridization with domestic horses. 

Since reintroduction efforts began, studies have shown that the Przewalski's Horse populations have been steadily increasing. They have acclimated well to the wild, proving that the long period of being held in captivity has had no adverse affect on their ability to live on their own.

Conservation Efforts

The Prague Zoo has dedicated itself to breeding Przewalski's Horses, and they have released 12 horses back into the wild since 2011.

They are legally protected in Mongolia. Hunting them has been illegal since the 1930's.

The North American Breeders group, formed in the 1970's, has developed a survival plan for Przewalski's Horses: many groups now work together to minimize inbreeding and maintain genetic diversity.

In 2002, The Status and Action Plan for the Przewalski's Horse was created to provide more information about the species, as well as the current conservation efforts in place.

On July 27th, 2013, at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, a Przewalski's Horse foal was the first wild horse to be born via artificial insemination.

by Smithsonian's National Zoo via Flickr.com
used under Creative Commons License

                                                                                  

SOURCES

Equus ferus. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/41763/0

Kirkpatrick, J., & Fazio, P. (n.d.). The surprising history of america. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/9589-surprising-history-america-wild-horses.html

Przewalski's horse. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/asiatrail/fact-phorse.cfm

Prague zoo to transfer further przewalski horses to mongolia. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://praguemonitor.com/2014/04/01/prague-zoo-transfer-further-przewalski-horses-mongolia

An extraordinary return from the brink of extinction for worlds last wild horse. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://web.archive.org/web/20120212234213/http://www.zsl.org/info/media/press-releases/null,1790,PR.html

Wakefield, S., Knowles, J., Zimmermann, W., & Dierendonck, M. (n.d.). Status and action plan for the przewalski’s horse (equus ferus przewalskii). Retrieved from website: http://is.muni.cz/el/1431/jaro2007/Bi8710/E-przewalskii.pdf

First wild horse born from artificial insemination at smithsonian conservation biology institute on july 27, 2013. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://nationalzoo.si.edu/SCBI/ReproductiveScience/WildEquids/default.cfm

Boyd, L., & Houpt, K. (1994). Przewalski's horse: The history and biology of an endangered species.