PRZEWALSKI'S HORSE
Przewalski horse
cousin of first horses Przewalski's horses (Equus caballus przewalskii) are also known as wild Asiatic horse or takhis. They are the only true wild horse left in the world and the last remaining species of wild horse. It is found almost exclusively in zoos although some have been reintroduced to Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Russia, southern France and western China. It is still being debated today whether they are a species or a subspecies of horses. [Source: Natural History, July 2002]
Przewalski's horses are named after General Nikolai Michailovitch Przewalski, the 19th century Russian-Polish explorer and naturalist who made several expeditions to Central Asia. he discovered the wild horse in western Mongolia in 1879 and brought some skins from the animal to Russia. Przewalski was born in Smolensk in 1839. He traveled extensively in the Russian Far East, Mongolia, Western China, Tibet and Central Asia. He was one of the first Westerners to meet the Dalai Lama and served as an agent for the Russians in the Great Game. He died in what is now Kyrgyzstan in 1888.
Przewalski's horse are herbivores, eating mainly grasses and shrubs. And sometimes bark, leaves, fruit and buds. In zoos they are fed hay, grain and alfalfa. Przewalski's horses used roam the steppes and deserts of Mongolia, northern China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. They were depicted in wall paintings but were considered too wild to domesticate and were pursued only for food. Another kind of horse was selected for domestication. Today, Przewalski's wild horses are found in the Altai Mountains and steppes of Mongolia living in grassy deserts and plains at elevations of up to 8,000 feet). [Source: Janette Luu, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Przewalski's horses are listed as endangered. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they have no special status. After reintroduced horses successfully reproduced, the status of the animal was changed from "extinct in the wild" to "critically endangered" in 2005 and 2008, and from "critically endangered" to "endangered" after a 2011 reassessment.
Przewalski's Horse Characteristics
Przewalski's horses are markedly different from domestic horses and are regarded as a different species. They have several characteristics that are closer to the prehistoric ancestors of horses than to domesticated horses. They are small and stocky and have a short neck, short back, stubby legs and a thin tail base and have a short mane and forelock. During the summer their coat is short and smooth and zebra-like stripes appear on their legs. In the winter their fur becomes longer and lighter in color.
Przewalski's horse
Przewalski's horses range in weight from 200 to 300 kilograms (440 to 660 pounds) and stand about 1.3 meters (four feet) at the shoulder. They are 2.2 to 2.6 meters (7.6 to 8.5 feet) in length, with a 80- to- 110-centimeter (2.6-to-3.6-foot) -long tail, They look somewhat like mules and are rusty brown to beige in color, with dark brown lower legs and a yellowish white belly. Although they have different numbers of chromosomes they are the only members of the equid family capable of producing fertile offspring if interbred with domesticated horses.
Przewalski's wild horses have a large head with a long face and a powerful jaw. The upper and lower incisors are used for cutting vegetation, while its many hypsodont cheek teeth are used for grinding. With eyes set far back in the skull, it is able to view a wide field, making the only blind spot directly behind its head. The ears are fairly long and erect, but can be moved for the localization of sounds. A stiff, erect blackish mane runs down the back. The tail hairs are of graduated lengths. [Source: Janette Luu, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Przewalski's Horse Behavior
Przewalski's horses spend more than half the day foraging for food. They have been observed spending the day in the desert, traveling to grazing and watering areas after sun-down and returning to the desert in the morning. They sense using touch, sound and chemicals usually detected with smell. Shy and alert to avoid enemies, Przewalski's horses have a shrill voice and can also detect smell and sound at great distances.
Like wild domesticated horses, Przewalski's horses form cohesive, long-term herds and social groups consisting of a stallion, his harem of mares and their offspring. There have been sightings of young solitary stallions, a result of the leader having driven the younger and weaker males from the herd. The moods of these horses can be detected through changes in the positions of its ear, mouth and tail.
Przewalski's horses establish home ranges and stay close to them but wander great distances to feed on grass, leaves and buds. A typical herd of social group consists of a senior mare, two to four other mares and their offspring and a stallion who stays on he periphery.
The stallion and his mares travel three to six miles a day, and spend their time grazing, dozing, mud-bathing, and drinking from streams and natural springs. They cluster together at night and sleep for about four hours. Social grooming is important as it is with other wild horses as a means of bonding among herd members. Usually two animals stand nose to tail so they can be on the look out for danger in both directions, nibbling each other's shoulders and whithers. Their tails serves as convenient fly swatters.
Przewalski's Horse Mating, Reproduction and Offspring
Przewalski's Horse eating steppe grasses
Young males mature more slowly. At around the age of three they begin harassing females in estrus the groups and are forced to leave. Young males spend a few years in groups with other young males, honing their fighting skills, which are necessary to form a harem of their own from dispersed fillies, steal fillies or challenge a stallion for possession of his harem.
The gestation period of Przewalski's horses is from eleven to twelve months. Females give birth to one foal during April or May. An hour after birth, the foal is able to stand and walk. Foals begin to graze within a few weeks, but are not weaned for eight to thirteen months. Mating and birth occurs in the same season, since females come into heat seven to eight days after giving birth (Lowry Park Zoo). [Source: Janette Luu, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Fillies are often harassed by their fathers. This begins happening when they around two years old and that is around the time they leave their harem and begin looking for a new group.
Returning Przewalski's Horses to the Wild
Przewalski's horses, which used to roam across Mongolia, western China and Central Asia in great herds, have been extinct in the wild since the 1960s. They were hunted and poached for their meat. The last wild one was spotted in the Gobi Desert in 1960. All Przewalski's horses living today are offspring of 15 animals, including three stallions, caught near the turn of the 20th century. Fortunately they bred well in captivity and the breeding was carefully done through zoos and private herds owned by aristocrats so that there was little inbreeding. None of Przewalski's horses are completely pure though. They all have a little domestic horse blood in them but the amount is negligible.
By 1992, the population of Przewalski's horses in zoos had reached 1,000 and it was feasible to reintroduce some of them to the wild. In 1993 the firs Przewalski's horses were reintroduced to the Hustain Nuruu Steppe Reserve (now Hustain or Khustai National Park), about 60 miles from Ulaanbaatar . The reintroduced horses stuck so stubbornly to the home ranges they established around their release sites that reintroduction had to take place over a widely scattered area to reduce competition at the home ranges.
About 50 horses were initially released. They have been monitored by conservationist. Problems include wolves and undrinkable frozen water in the winter. Newly released horses are kept in a fenced area until they become acclimated and then they are allowed to run wild and suffers the fate of wild animals. Each year about five foals are killed by wolves.
By the early 2000s, there were about 170 Przewalski's horses, about half of them wild born, with 107 in Khustai National Park and 59 in Takhin Tal. Some groups are elusive and stay in the birch forests. Other come to research centers at night for protection against wolves.
Khustai National Park
Khustai National Park (near Khustain Nuruu, 100 kilometers southwest from Ulaan Baatar) is where some Przewalski horses were re-introduced among grasslands and birch forests in 1993. A large fence surrounds the areas with the horses so they don’t escape. The best time to see the wild horses is around dusk and dawn at places where the come to drink.
The reserve area covers 90,000 hectares. Asiatic red deer, wolves, boar, wild cat, lynx and gazelles also live here. Deer and gazelles are often spotted but sightings of the other animals are rare. Within the park are a number of Turkic graves and stone men, or hum chuluu. The Ongot archeological complex is nearby. A number of hikes and horse rides can be done in the area. There is a ger camp here. E-mail MACNE@magicnet.mn or call 976-1-367-345.
Khustai National Park has an area of 506.20 square kilometers and is run by the Mongolian Association for the Conservation of Nature and the Environment (MACNE), with the cooperation of the Foundation Reserves for the Przewalski Horse (FRPH) and the Dutch government. One of the park’s main goals has been reintroduce takhi to wild. Also called the Przewalski horse (named after the Polish explorer who first ‘discovered’ it in 1878), the horse numbers were greatly reduced after poachers killed them for meat, and overgrazing and development reduced their fodder and breeding grounds. In the 2000s, , the Takhi population increased to more than 200 horses.
See Separate Article: NEAR ULAAN BAATAR factsanddetails.com
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, CNTO (China National Tourism Administration) David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.
Last updated April 2025