https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/10/przewalskis-horses-only-wild-species-return-central-asian-steppes-kazakhstan [p] Skip to main contentSkip to navigation Close dialogue1/2Next imagePrevious imageToggle caption Skip to navigation Print subscriptions Sign in Search jobs Search US edition[ ] * US edition * UK edition * Australia edition * Europe edition * International edition The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian [ ] * News * Opinion * Sport * Culture * Lifestyle ShowMoreShow More * [ ]News + View all News + US news + US elections 2024 + Donald Trump trials + World news + Environment + Ukraine + Soccer + Business + Tech + Science + Newsletters + Wellness * [ ]Opinion + View all Opinion + The Guardian view + Columnists + Letters + Opinion videos + Cartoons * [ ]Sport + View all Sport + football/euro-2024 + Soccer + NFL + Tennis + MLB + MLS + NBA + NHL + F1 + Golf * [ ]Culture + View all Culture + Film + Books + Music + Art & design + TV & radio + Stage + Classical + Games * [ ]Lifestyle + View all Lifestyle + Wellness + Fashion + Food + Recipes + Love & sex + Home & garden + Health & fitness + Family + Travel + Money * Search input [ ] google-search Search + Support us + Print subscriptions * [ ]US edition + UK edition + Australia edition + Europe edition + International edition * + Search jobs + Digital Archive + Guardian Licensing + About Us + The Guardian app + Video + Podcasts + Pictures + Inside the Guardian + Guardian Weekly + Crosswords + Wordiply + Corrections * + Search jobs + Digital Archive + Guardian Licensing + About Us * World * Europe * US * Americas * Asia * Australia * Middle East * Africa * Inequality * Global development A stocky beige-coloured horse with an erect mane standing on a open grassy plain [ ] The Przewalski's horses' grazing will benefit pollinators, small mammals and ground-nesting birds, helping restore the steppes ecosystem. Photograph: D Rosengren/Global Rewilding Alliance View image in fullscreen The Przewalski's horses' grazing will benefit pollinators, small mammals and ground-nesting birds, helping restore the steppes ecosystem. Photograph: D Rosengren/Global Rewilding Alliance The age of extinctionConservation Wild horses return to Kazakhstan steppes after absence of two centuries Seven Przewalski's horses, the only truly wild species of the animal in the world, flown to central Asian country from zoos in Europe The age of extinction is supported by theguardian.org About this content Sophie Kevany Mon 10 Jun 2024 12.52 EDTLast modified on Mon 10 Jun 2024 13.04 EDT Share A group of the world's last wild horses have returned to their native Kazakhstan after an absence of about 200 years. The seven horses, four mares from Berlin and a stallion and two other mares from Prague, were flown to the central Asian country on a Czech air force transport plane. The wild horses, known as Przewalski's horses, once roamed the vast steppe grasslands of central Asia, where horses are believed to have been first domesticated about 5,500 years ago. People are known to have been riding and milking horses in northern Kazakhstan nearly 2,000 years before the first records of domestication in Europe. Human activity, including hunting the animals for their meat, as well as road building, which fragmented their population, drove the horses close to extinction in the 1960s. Filip Masek, Prague zoo's spokesperson, said: "These are the only remaining wild horses in the world. Mustangs are domesticated horses that went wild." The horses reintroduced into Kazakhstan are descended from two groups that survived in Munich and Prague zoos. A beige-coloured horse trots out of a metal shipping container as a woman and a man hold the doors openView image in fullscreen A Przewalski's horse is released on the steppe after the six mares and a stallion were flown to Kazakhstan from Prague and Berlin zoos. Photograph: Daniel Rosengren/Global Rewilding Alliance Originally, eight horses had been scheduled to travel, said Masek, but one horse sat down before the flight from Prague and had to be unloaded and returned to Prague zoo. "He was just a little dizzy returning, but he is fine now. These horses have to stand for the entire journey - they can't sit down, mainly because their blood needs to circulate properly. It is a 30-hour journey in total, and the horses will only survive if they stand all the way," he said. Returning the horses from Prague zoo would help increase biodiversity in the region, said Masek. "The horses spread seeds in their dung and when they dig up plants, they help the water get down into the soil. They also fertilise the steppe with their dung. "For me", he said, "the goal of a modern zoo is not just about protecting and breeding endangered species, it is about returning them to the wild where they belong." Prague zoo's director, Miroslav Bobek, said the horses' arrival was "almost a miracle", given the relatively short preparation for the relocation and unexpected floods in central Kazakhstan last month. "This is the beginning of a whole new chapter in the story of the last wild horse on the planet," he said in a press release. Mongolia dragged its wild horses back from extinction - can it save the rest of its wildlife? Read more In 2011, Prague zoo was involved in a reintroduction of Przewalski's horses to Mongolia. The project, which involved nine flights of horses, continued until 2019 when the population stabilised, said Masek, adding that there were now about 1,500 of the wild horses in Mongolia. Masek said the plan was to transport a total of 40 horses to central Kazakhstan over the next five years. This first stage of the horse reintroduction involved the Kazakh government's forestry and wildlife committee, Prague zoo, Tierpark Berlin zoo, Frankfurt Zoological Society and the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan. Explore more on these topics * Conservation * The age of extinction * Animals * Kazakhstan * South and central Asia * Zoos * Zoology * Horses * news Share Reuse this content Most viewed Most viewed * World * Europe * US * Americas * Asia * Australia * Middle East * Africa * Inequality * Global development * News * Opinion * Sport * Culture * Lifestyle Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning Sign up for our email * About us * Help * Complaints & corrections * SecureDrop * Work for us * * Privacy policy * Cookie policy * Terms & conditions * Contact us * All topics * All writers * Digital newspaper archive * Facebook * YouTube * Instagram * LinkedIn * X * Newsletters * Advertise with us * Guardian Labs * Search jobs Back to top (c) 2024 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. (dcr)