This month, seven rare Przewalski Horse arrived from Europe to their native homeland in Kazakhstan after a “nearly 200-year absence.” According to Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative, the reintroduction is part of a wider program to restore fully-functioning steppe grassland ecosystems.
There are plans for more horses to join them, too. “In future [there is a] planned transportation of a further 30 horses, [which] aims to establish a self-sustaining population in the region. In addition to Asiatic wild ass (otherwise known as Kulan) and Saiga antelopes, the Przewalski’s horses will complete the trio of native large herbivores of the steppe ecosystem. This marks a historic return and a milestone in years of conservation work focused on building Kazakhstan’s network of protected areas and ranger capacity to ensure this reintroduction is a success,” said a press release from the organization.
Przewalski Horse or ?? Only time and a DNA test will tell… (Lazy B Equine Rescue and Sanctuary Facebook photo)
In other Przewalski news, an American horse rescue may have gotten more than it bargained for in an owner surrender. The Lazy B Equine Rescue and Sanctuary of Utah posted images of a striking red dun-ish horse with natural roached main to its Facebook page along with the post:
Wahoo! We didn’t come home with any horses from the auction as they were all selling above $500, which is higher than average meat prices! Love that!
Though we didn’t bring home horses from the auction, we still brought in horses from owner surrenders, 5 total Including this interesting gal! Anyone getting possible Przewalski vibes!? A true wild, endangered species of equine How cool would that be! We are needing to raise her intake fee of $250 and would love to get her DNA tested to see exactly what she is!
We admit, we too got some Przewalski vibes! Where an “owner” would have acquired an endangered species will remain a mystery.
The Przewalski horse is an Appendix 1 endangered species on CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). It is considered to be the only remaining wild horse, as mustangs etc., are classified as “feral” as they descend from domestic animals.
Interestingly, there are genetic differences between our modern horses and the Przewalski that indicates they’re not direct ancestors. According to one source, the Przewalski’s horse has 33 chromosome pairs, while our modern equines have 32. Any common ancestry the two equines shares split between 160,000 and 38,000 years ago.
Today there are approximately 2,000 of these horses left in the world.