Przewalski's horse is one of the few species of animals that were saved

Wild animals and people constantly compete for a place under the sun on our planet. And often, such competition leads to the extinction of representatives of the fauna. But, sometimes the situation manages to establish and revive the endangered species of animals literally from the few remaining individuals. Today we will tell you about Przewalski’s horse, one of the few species of animals that people managed to save.

Przewalski's horse (lat. Equus przewalskii caballus) belongs to the genus horse and is the closest relative to donkeys, domestic horses and zebras. But outwardly Przhevalsky’s horses are more like donkeys, and their sizes are slightly smaller than that of domestic horses (the height at the withers is 1.2-1.5 meters). The birthplace of this most beautiful animal is the Eurasian steppes, and the species itself was first described only at the end of the XIX century, after the expedition of N. M. Przhevalsky to Central Asia.

But if during the Przhevalsky expedition these wild horses were widespread in the vastness of Eurasia, then already at the beginning of the 20th century their number began to rapidly decline. Uncontrolled hunting, as well as the harsh winters of the 40s of the last century on the territory of Mongolia and north-west of China, led to the fact that Przewalski's horses first became extremely rare, and then completely disappeared. According to scientists, the last time a Przhevalsky wild horse was seen in 1969 in the Mongolian steppes. Some time later Przewalski’s horse was recognized as extinct in the wild.

But, fortunately, descendants of Przewalski's horses that were caught in Central Asia at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries lived in reserves around the world. In the 50s of the last century, 12 representatives of this species lived in the world, and it was from these horses that the modern population of Przewalski's horses was restored. After decades of hard work, scientists from different countries managed to breed these horses in captivity and prepare them for life in the wild. By the end of the 80s of the last century, their populations existed in France, the USSR (within the Askania-Nova nature reserve in the Kherson region) and other countries.

For the reintroduction of Przewalski’s reared horses into the wild, the expanses of Mongolia were chosen - those places where their ancestors once lived. In the 90s of the last century, specially protected natural areas were organized here, within which horses were released. The state of the population is regularly monitored by biologists who conduct all the necessary research and feed horses in harsh winters.

Today in the world there are about 2000 individuals of Przhevalsky horses, and it seems that nothing threatens the well-being of the species. Wild horse populations live in Mongolia, France, Hungary, in the Ukrainian reserve Askania-Nova, and since last year in the Orenburg reserve in Russia. There are also plans for the reintroduction of the species in Kazakhstan.

But genetics warn: the Przewalski wild horse population cannot be called sustainable. The fact is that all living horses are the descendants of only 12 animals, which is very small in terms of genetic diversity. That is, all living horses are close relatives and therefore have a predisposition to dangerous genetic mutations and other adverse effects of closely related crosses. Moreover, such populations are less stable when it comes to adverse environmental factors or an outbreak of infectious diseases.

Despite all the difficulties that scientists will encounter in the process of further restoration of Przewalski’s horses, much is already behind. Several natural reserves have been created where wild populations live, and the number of horses no longer causes such concern. And although the species still has the status of an endangered species, we can hope that a bright future awaits it.