Przewalski's horses return to the steppes. They haven't been seen there for 200 years
European zoos sent eight Przewalski's horses, a wild species that can survive in natural conditions, to Kazakhstan. This is a plan to recreate their population after a 200-year absence.
Przewalski's horses are called the last wild horses in the world. After the successful restoration of the species in Mongolia, a group of eight of these animals was prepared to travel from Europe to Kazakhstan. Ultimately, four mares and a stallion from Berlin and two mares from Prague were sent because one of the horses was ill. He sat down just before the flight, which could indicate health problems.
Przewalski's horse will return to the steppes of Kazakhstan
“He was just a little dazed when he came back, but he's fine now. These horses must stand for the entire journey. They cannot sit – mainly because the blood needs to circulate properly. It's a total journey of 30 hours, and the horses will only survive if they stand the entire way, explained Filip Mašek, spokesman for the Prague Zoo.
Over the next 5 years, 40 horses are to be delivered to Kazakhstan. Initially, there was concern about whether the first transport would be successful at all. The country has recently been hit by major floods, and there was not much time to prepare. Ultimately, however, everything was finalized.
The same Czech zoo helped in the already mentioned Mongolia. There, the process of restoring the species began in 2011 and continued until 2019. Those activities were a complete success. Currently, there are approximately 1,500 wild horses living in Mongolia.
Przewalski's horse, named after the officer of the tsarist army, Nikolai M. Przewalski, originally comes from the areas of today's Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China. It was described as a separate species in 1878, but due to human activity it ceased to occur in nature in the 1960s.
Centers have been established all over the world to restore this species. Several of them are located in Poland. Przewalski's horses can be found in Warsaw, Wrocław, Łódź and Poznań.
