- Przewalski Horses are a species of stockily built horses with large heads that share a common ancestry with modern domestic horses but are genetically different.
- Przewalski horses are commonly referred to as one of the world’s last breeds of wild horses.
The Saiga Antelope
- Kazakhstan’s conservation efforts extend beyond Przewalski horses.
- The Saiga antelope, once endangered, now has a population of about two million, thanks to conservation policies by Kazakh authorities and NGOs.
- IUCN categorises Saiga Antelope as Near-threatened.
- IUCN classified it as Endangered in its Red data book last assessed in 2014.
- Przewalski horses are suited to the steppe and are capable of resisting harsh winters like the ones in Kazakhstan.
- The Prague and Berlin zoos led a project aimed to preserve these horses.
- Recently three Przewalski horses translocated to the Kazakh steppe, their native habitat. These horses are the first of 40 to be released over the next five years.
- They are initially under observation in the Golden Steppe nature reserve before being fully released into the wild.
- Currently, there are 2,000 Przewalski horses worldwide, mainly in China and Mongolia, but also in France, Russia, and the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
- In 1998, 30 specimens were introduced to Chernobyl, and their population has since grown to 210.
Dig Deeper: Compare Project Cheetah with Przewalski Horse Reintroduction Project
