Przewalski's Horse

How do you say Przewalski's horse? It's quite a tongue twister for most Americans! It's pronounced either "sheh-VAHL-skee" or "per-zhuh-VAHL-skee" or even "PREZ-VAHL-skee," depending on the speaker. They're also known as Asiatic wild horses or Mongolian wild horses. Przewalski's horses are the last remaining wild horses and the closest living relative of domestic horses. Like their cousinszebras and wild assesall horses belong to the family Equidae.

Przewalski’s horses weren't scientifically described until 1881when Russian explorer Nikolai Przewalski shared details about this rarely seen horse with scientists at a museum in St. Petersburg. It's clear they've been around a long timehowever. Cave paintings 30,000 years old found in Spain and France depict a stocky wild horse with Przewalski's horse features.

Przewalski's horses are stockyshortand pot-bellied in comparison with other horseswith a spiky mane like a zebra and dark brown legs. Their coats may vary slightly in colorationbut all Przewalski's horses have a light belly and darker backwith a longdark dorsal stripe from the withers to the base of their tail. Typicallytheir legs and mane are darker than their bodylike a bay horse. Unlike their domestic cousinsthoughthey don't have a lock of hair on their foreheadcalled a forelock. Their head is rectangular and large in comparison with the rest of their bodyand their ears are darkly rimmed.

Przewalski's horses are always on the move through their large home rangeswhich can be from 1 to 12 square miles (3 to 32 square kilometers). Bachelor stallions (adult males) cover the most groundsometimes more than 13 miles (22 kilometers) a daydepending on the time of year. They amble between favored grazing spots and water sources during the dayresting when it gets too warm. In the winterMongolian gazelles and red deer may join the horse herd for added protection. Winter is long and hard for the horsesas food is much harder to find.

Przewalski's horses grow thickwarm coats for the wintercomplete with long beards and neck hair. These coats are important during the harsh winters in their habitat in MongoliaKazakstanand Chinawhere temperatures can be freezing. In high windsPrzewalski's horses turn their back to the storm and tuck their tail tightly between their back legs. This may be an adaptation to help protect their eyes and nostrilswhile also protecting their sensitive reproductive partsfrom the severe winds and sandstorms of the Gobi Desert.

Like their equine relativesPrzewalski's horses are grazers and mostly nibble on wild grasses. They graze together and rest together. Their sharp hooves are used to dig holes in the groundif neededto find water.

Przewalski's horses at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park graze in their habitat and also eat grass hay.

It is thought that Przewalski's horses have never been successfully domesticated. They live in two kinds of largedistinct social groups: harem and bachelor groups. Harems rarely have more than 10 mares (adult females) and their offspring of up to 2 or 3 years of ageand are led by one dominant stallion. Harem members all graze and rest together. They spend a lot of time grooming one anotherstanding side by sidehead to tailand nibbling at one another's back and sides. This helps to reinforce social bonds within the group and provides a good scratch! 

When stallions are old enough to compete with the lead stallionthey are driven out of the harem and join small bachelor groups until they are mature enough to successfully compete for a harem group of their own.

When mares are old enough to reproducethey may leave the harem group to join another. Foals are born after an 11-month gestation periodand they must be up and moving with the herd about 30 minutes after birth. By one week of agefoals are eating grasses and practicing their kicking skills. At one month of agefoals begin to play with other foals and older siblings in the herd. They continue to nurse for eight months to a yeargradually eating more solid foods and becoming more independent. Young horses stay with the group they were born into until they are sexually mature.

Wolves are the Przewalski's horse foal’s greatest natural enemy. To protect their little onesmares form a defensive circle around their youngand the stallion trots around the circle and charges. At nightone or more horses keep watch for predators while the others rest. Small herds are more vulnerable to attackas there are fewer adults to protect foals. Some mares leave the protection of the herd to give birthand this often invites a wolf attackas the mother does not have the help she needs to protect her foal (baby).

Like other horsesPrzewalski’s horses call to each other with neighs and nickers. A snort can mean fearfrustrationor an alarm calland a grunting “laugh” and sharp squeal are used by stallions during courtship. Stallions create “stud piles” of their feces to mark their territory and harem to other stallions in the area.

Przewalski's horses are native to a habitat called the steppe. Until 15,000 years agothis immense and hardscrabblesparse grassland habitat stretched from the east coast of Asia to present-day Spain and Portugal. After the last Ice Agehoweverthe steppe gave way to woods and foreststo which Przewalski's horses weren't well adapted. By the 19th centurythe few horses that remained were confined to Mongoliasouthern Russiaand Poland. 

In the early 20th centuryfarmers and livestock took over good grazing landsforcing Przewalski's horses into other areas. Wealthy aristocrats and westerners were fascinated by the unusual horses and collected foals to keep as pets. Przewalski's horses were spotted in Mongolia into the 1980s but became extinct in their native habitat around that same time. 

Luckilya small number of Przewalski's horses were protected and cared for in various zoos around the world. All Przewalski's horses alive today are descendants of 12 wild horses that were protected at the beginning of the 20th century. 

In 1977conservationists established the Foundation for the Preservation and Protection of the Przewalski's Horseand they developed a Species Survival Plan in 1979 to help save the species. In 199216 horses were reintroduced into their native habitat in Mongoliain an area that was later designated as Hustai National Park. Conservation breeding and reintroduction efforts continuedand as of 2014the world's population of Przewalski's horses had reached nearly 2,000with 178 of them living in the wild. New horses continue to be introduced to the population at three reintroduction sites in Mongoliaand two in China. 

Since 1979San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and a team of international conservation scientists have led the way in conservation breedingconservation geneticsand reintroduction of Przewalski’s horses. Our conservation scientistsin collaboration with researchers from the University of Pennsylvaniaare studying the DNA of this endangered horse to determine genetic relationships in the remaining populations to guide conservation decisions. Information obtained through genome sequencing studies will help guide conservation breedingmaintain genetic diversityand focus reintroduction efforts for the "last wild horse."

In 2020our conservation science teamsin collaboration with the nonprofit Revive & Restoreand ViaGen Pets & Equine successfully cloned a Przewalski’s horse—the first in the world. “Kurt” was born to a surrogate domestic quarter horse—and is the clone of a male Przewalski’s stallion whose DNA was cryopreserved in our Wildlife Biodiversity Bank. By restoring genetic diversityconservationists hope to strengthen today’s population for the long-term sustainability of their species.

By joining San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance as an ally for wildlifeyou help save species worldwide.