Wild horses re-introduced
Posted by GeneBreshears on Wed 30 Jul 2003 - 13:48
BBC On-line reports that the Munich Zoo has transferred eight Przewalski's horses to the Altyn-Emel forest in Kazakhstan in an attempt to reintroduce the "last truly wild horse" into the wild. The species has existed only in zoos since the 1940s. Munich Zoo successfully reintroduced another equine species, the koulan, into the same area about twenty years ago. Wild koulan number over 500 since that re-introduction, so they hold out hope for similar success here. They are also hoping to reintroduce the species into CHina and Mongolia.
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GeneBreshears — read stories — contact (login required)a typographer from Seattle, WA, interested in writing, dabbling, publishing, and analyzing
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Interesting, my brother spent some time out there a few years ago, he was told the Chinese army ate the few horses left.
I returned to my childhood home to visit some years ago, I visited Staten Island Zoo, I spent many a day there as a youth.
I saw the pony ride (where I rode my first horse) and in the corner was a medium size horse happily munching on some hay. I asked to see the administrator for more information and he told me that the horse was donated by a local resident. He said the horse was a Palamino, I giggled and advised him that indeed the horses was a Przewalski, and was quite rare. Our zoo in Tampa had a small herd that I visited often. He told me they planned to use the horse in a Native American display, and seemed a little embarrassed. I guess they'll have to change their plans. The Przewalski is nature's basic horse, with no assesories or chrome, kinda muley, but is equiped to survive harsh environments and very hearty. The Mongols used to somply catch one from the herd, use it, then turn it loose again.
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