Species Fact Profile: Przewalski's Wild Horse (Equus przewalskii)

     Przewalski's Wild Horse (Asian Wild Horse, Mongolian Wild Horse, Takhi)

                          Equus przewalskii/Equus ferus przewalskii (I. S. Polyakov, 1881)

Range: Historically ranged throughout Europe and Asia.  In recent times were found only in Central Asia, and today found only in reintroduction sites in Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan

Habitat:  Steppe, Grassy Desert

Diet: Grasses, Leaves, Shrubs  

Social Grouping: Herds of 12-15 animals, consist of a dominant stallion, several mares, and their offspring, sometimes with younger stallions hanging on the periphery of the herd.

Reproduction: Breed in the spring and summer.  Gestation period 11-12 months, after which single foal born.  Foals are capable of standing about an hour after birth, are weaned at 8-13 months (though they may begin grazing a few weeks after birth).  Biologically sexually mature at 2 years old, but males usually are not in a position to breed until they are 5 years old.  Female comes into heat with 7-8 days of giving birth

Lifespan: 30-35 Years (Wild)

      Conservation Status: IUCN Endangered, CITES Appendix I

• ·    1.3-1.5 meters tall at the withers, 2.2-2.6 meters long, 250-360 kilograms.  Compared to domestic horses, stocky with shorter legs
• ·     Coat is generally dun in color with some white around the muzzle, eyes, and underside (Pangaré), often with some faint striping on the black lower legs and a dark dorsal stripe running from the mane to the tail.  The mane is black and stands erect, does not grow as far forward as in domestic horses.  A very dense winter coat is grown in the colder months, then shed out for a lighter summer coat.  The tail is 90 centimeters long.  Compared to domestic horses, the hooves and longer in the front and have thicker soles
• ·     Male offspring driven from the herd upon reaching sexual maturity (forming bachelor herds until they are able to challenge stallions for herds of their own), while females may remain in their natal herd.  Home range size varies from as little as 1.2 square kilometers to as much as 800 square kilometers in desert habitat  
• ·    Spend the days in the desert, more arid parts of home range, moving into grazing and watering areas in the evening, presumably to avoid enemies.
• ·    Will dig up ground plants buried under snow.  During winter, their metabolic rate can slow down, helping them conserve energy.
• ·    Adults have few natural predators, with wolves being the most important.  The leading cause of death in foals in infanticide from stallions.
• ·    Treated by some authorities as a full species (E. przewalskii), others as a subspecies of wild horse (E. ferus przewalskii), and by others as a feral variety of domestic horse (E. caballus) with no special taxonomic status.  Have 33 pairs of chromosomes versus the 32 pairs in domestic horses, though still capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring
• ·    Generally considered to be the world’s only true remaining wild horse (others, such as the American mustang and Australian brumby, are relatively recently established feral populations)
• ·    Common name honors Russian (Polish descent) geographer and explore Nikolaj Przewalski, who was credited with discovering the species, although there were earlier mentions of wild horses in the region in the writings of travelers and envoys to the region
• ·     Sometimes known by its native Mongolian name, takhi, meaning “spirit”
• ·     Horses resembling the Asian wild horse are depicted in European cave art as far back as 20,000, but may have been now-extinct European tarpan or similar species
• ·     Species was not observed in the wild from 1903 until 1947, when a few very small, isolated herds were observed.  Last observed in the wild in 1969, leading it to be declared extinct in the wild for the next thirty years
• ·     Species was believed to be naturally rare, with extinction in the wild brought about by competition with domestic animals (which possibly drove this species to suboptimal habitat by the time it came to the attention of Europeans), hunting, and a series of unusually harsh winters.  Risk of genetic contamination (deliberate or accidental) with domestic horses
• ·     In addition to traditional zoo collections, small numbers of specialized reserves were created for the species.  Mostly notably, in 1998 thirty horses were released in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine and Belarus, now boasting of over 100 animals
• ·     Reintroduction of zoo-bred horses into the wild continues, most notably through Prague Zoo’s Return of the Wild Horses program, which continues to reintroduce captive-bred wild horses into the Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area in Mongolia.  A key challenge to establishing the species back in the wild has been a series of unusually harsh winters and small population size.  Other zoos have contributed horses to other projects, including in China and Kazakhstan