Przewalski's Horse
57416
224724547
2008-07-10T03:37:27Z
165.228.3.86
/* Preservation efforts */
{{Taxobox
| name = Przewalski's Horse
| status = EN <!--They are NOT extinct in the wild, populations have been restored, please do not change this-->
| status_ref = <ref name="ZSL">[http://www.zsl.org/info/media-centre/press-releases/null,1790,PR.html "An extraordinary return from the brink of extinction for worlds last wild horse"] ''ZSL Living Conservation,'' December 19, 2005.</ref>
| image = Przewalskis-horse-036437.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordata]]
| classis = [[Mammal]]ia
| ordo = [[Perissodactyla]]
| familia = [[Equidae]]
| genus = ''[[Equidae|Equus]]''
| subgenus = ''Equus''
| range_map=Leefgebied_przewalskipaard.JPG
| range_map_caption=Range map
| species = ''[[Wild Horse|E. ferus]]''
| subspecies = '''''E. f. przewalskii'''''
| trinomial = ''Equus ferus przewalskii''
| trinomial_authority = ([[Poliakov]], 1881)
}}
'''Przewalski's Horse''' (''Equus ferus przewalskii'', ''Equus przewalskii'' or ''Equus caballus przewalskii,'' classification is debated), {{pronEng|ʃɨˈvælskiː}} or {{IPA|/zɨˈvɑːlskiː/}}, ''etc.'' in [[English language|English]]; also known as the '''Asian Wild Horse''' or '''Mongolian Wild Horse''', or '''Takhi''', is the closest living wild relative of the [[horse|domestic horse]].
Most "wild" horses today, such as the [[United States|American]] [[Mustang (horse)|Mustang]] or the [[Australia]]n [[Brumbies]], are actually [[feral]] animals, horses that were once [[domesticated]] but escaped and reverted to an apparently wild status. The Przewalski's Horse, on the other hand, has never been successfully domesticated and remains a truly wild animal today. There were once several types of equid that had never been successfully domesticated, including the [[Tarpan]], and others. However, most have become extinct, with the Przewalski's Horse and various sub species of the [[Onager]] the only remaining truly wild horses in the world.
==Taxonomy==
Poliakov, who concluded that the animal was a wild horse species, gave it the official name ''Equus przewalskii'' (Poliakov 1881). However, authorities differ about the correct classification. Some hold it is a separate species, the last remnant of the [[wild horse]] ''Equus ferus,'' others hold it is a subspecies of ''Equus caballus.'' The question will only be answered with finality if or when the common ancestor from which domestic and Przewalski's horses diverged is determined.<ref>[http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/asiatrail/fact-phorse.cfm "Przewalski's Horse," Smithsonian National Zoological Park, accessed June 25, 2006]</ref> Although the Przewalski's horse has 66 chromosomes, compared to 64 in a domestic horse, the Przewalski's horse and the domestic horse are the only [[equid]]s that cross-breed and produce fertile offspring, possessing 65 chromosomes.<ref>[http://biobulletin.amnh.org/D/2/3/index.html The American Museum of Natural History] When Is a Wild Horse Actually a Feral Horse?</ref> "The Przewalski horse can be crossed successfully with the domestic horse, producing offspring with 65 chromosomes. Unlike the offspring of a domestic horse and an animal such as a donkey or zebra, the offspring of a Przewalski/domestic horse is not sterile and can be crossed back to either species. If the offspring is crossed back to a domestic horse, the resulting animal will have 64 chromosomes and very few Przewalski characteristics." <ref>[http://www.equinepost.com/resources/articles.asp?ID=2 Featured Equine: The Przewalski Horse] </ref>
==Population==
As of a census taken in 2005, the world population of these horses was about 1,500, all descended from 31 horses that were in captivity in 1945, mostly descended from approximately 15 captured around 1900. A cooperative venture between the Zoological Society of London and Mongolian scientists has resulted in successful reintroduction of these horses from [[zoo]]s into their natural habitat in [[Mongolia]], and as of 2005 there is a free-ranging population of 248 animals in the wild.<ref name="ZSL"/>
== Appearance==
Przewalski's Horse is stockily built in comparison to domesticated horses, with shorter legs. Typical height is about 13 [[hand (unit)|hands]] (1.32 m), length is about 2.1 m with a 90 cm tail. They weigh around 300 kg. The coat is similar to [[Dun (color)|dun]] coloration in domestic horses. It varies from dark brown around the mane (which stands erect) to pale brown on the flanks and yellowish-white on the belly. The legs of the Przewalski's Horse are often faintly striped. <ref>[http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/AsiaTrail/fact-phorse.cfm National Zoo information on Przewalski's Horse]</ref>
==Behaviour==
[[Image:Equus przewalskii Le Villaret 02 2006-07-20.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Przewalski's Horses]]
{{main|Horse behavior}}
In the wild, Przewalski's Horses live in social groups consisting of a dominant stallion, a dominant lead mare, other mares, and their offspring. The patterns of their daily lives exhibit [[horse behavior]] similar to that of [[feral horse]] herds: Each group has a well-defined home range; within the range, the herd travels between three and six miles a day, spending time grazing, drinking, using [[salt]] licks and dozing. At night, the herd clusters and sleeps for about four hours. Ranges of different herds may overlap without conflict, as the stallions are more protective of their mares than their territory.
Stallions practice a form of [[scent marking]] and will establish piles of dung at intervals along routes they normally travel to warn other males of their presence. In addition, when a female in the herd urinates, the stallion will frequently urinate in the same place, to signal her membership in the herd to other males. The stallions can frequently be seen sniffing dung piles to confirm scent markings. {{Fact|date=February 2007}}
== History ==
In the 15th century, [[Johann Schiltberger]] recorded one of the first European sightings of the horses in the journal of his trip to Mongolia as a prisoner of the [[Mongol]] [[Khan (title)|Khan]].<ref>[http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/horses/przewalski/index.htm Breeds of Livestock - Przewalski Horse]</ref> The horse is named after Russian General [[Nikolai Przhevalsky]] (1839–1888) (the spelling of the horse breed as "Przewalski" derives from the [[Polish language|Polish]] spelling of the name). He was an explorer and naturalist who described the horse in 1881, after having gone on an expedition to find it, based on rumours of its existence. Many of these horses were captured around 1900 by [[Carl Hagenbeck]] and placed in zoos. As noted above, about twelve to fifteen reproduced and formed today's population.
[[Image:Equus przewalskii Parc du Thot 01 2006-07-18.jpg|thumb|240px|left|Przewalski's Horse at the Parc du Thot, France]]
The native population declined in the 20th century due to a combination of factors, with the wild population in [[Mongolia]] dying out in the 1960s. The last herd was sighted in 1967 and the last individual horse in 1969. Expeditions after this failed to locate any horses, and the species was designated "extinct in the wild" for over 30 years.
After 1945 only two captive populations in zoos remained: in [[Munich]] and in [[Prague Zoo]]. The most valuable group in [[Askania Nova]] was shot down by German soldiers during occupation and the group in the USA had died.
[[Image:Prezewalsky 26-9-2004-3.JPG|thumb|230px|right|Przewalski's Horses]]
In 1977, the [http://www.treemail.nl/takh/index.htm Foundation for the Preservation and Protection of the Przewalski Horse] was founded by Jan and [[Inge Bouman]], which started a program of exchange between captive populations in zoos throughout the world to reduce [[inbreeding]], and later starting a breeding program of its own. In 1992, sixteen horses were released into the wild in Mongolia, followed by additional animals later on. These reintroduced horses successfully reproduced, and the status of the animal was changed from "extinct in the wild" to "endangered" in 2005.<ref name="ZSL"/> However, they are classified as "extinct in the wild" by the [[IUCN Red List]], as they have not been reassessed since 1996. <ref>[http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/41763/summ 2007 IUCN Red List – Search<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The area to which they were reintroduced became [[Khustain Nuruu National Park]] in 1998.
==Preservation efforts==
While dozens of zoos worldwide have Przewalski's Horses in small numbers, there are also specialized reserves dedicated primarily to the species.
The world's largest captive breeding program for Przewalski's horses is at the [[Askania Nova]] preserve in Ukraine. Several dozen Przewalski's horses were also released in the area evacuated after the [[Chernobyl accident]], which now serves as a deserted [[de facto]] natural preserve.<ref>{{cite news | first=Stephen | last=Mulvey | coauthors= | title=Wildlife defies Chernobyl radiation | date=2006-04-20 | publisher=BBC | url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4923342.stm | work =BBC News | pages = | accessdate = 2007-10-03 | language = }}</ref> An intensely researched population of free-ranging animals was introduced to the [[Hortobágy]] [[puszta]] in [[Hungary]]; data on social structure, behavior, and diseases gathered from these animals is used to improve the Mongolian conservation effort.
[[Image:Przewalski's Horse, Dubbo Zoo, c 2005.jpg|thumb|230px|right|Przewalski's Horse, Dubbo Zoo, Aust.]]
Three animals from this program live in a 12 acre (5 hectare) paddock in the [[Clocaenog Forest]] in [[North Wales]], [[United Kingdom|UK]], on the site of a former [[Neolithic]] or [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]] settlement. They were introduced there in 2004. The [[Forestry Commission]] hopes they will help recreate scenes from the Iron Age when horses similar to these roamed Britain freely.<ref> Forestry Commission. 2004. FC Wales turns clock back thousands of years with 'wild' solution to looking after ancient forest site. News release, No: 7001, 16 September 2004.
[http://www.forestry.gov.uk/newsrele.nsf/c06604a4b305b4a680256a1c003c773c/4853459c0456cc6880256f0800494861!OpenDocument]</ref>
Another herd exists at The Wilds Wildlife Preserve in [[Cumberland, Ohio]], [[USA]]. The small herd of about 17 individuals is kept in a large area shared with other Asian animals. <ref>[http://www.thewilds.org The Wilds.org]</ref> A small population is also kept by the [[Smithsonian Institution]] at a facility near [[Front Royal]], Virginia and in the [[Smithsonian National Zoological Park]] in Washington, DC.
Recent advances in equine reproductive science have potential to further preserve and expand the gene pool. In October, 2007 scientists at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo successfully reversed a vasectomy on a Przewalski horse — the first operation of its kind on this species and possibly the first ever on any endangered species. While normally a vasectomy may be performed on an endangered animal under limited circumstances, particularly if an individual has already produced many offspring and its genes are overrepresented in the population, scientists realized the animal in question was one of the most genetically valuable Przewalski horses in the North American breeding program. <ref>[http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=12095 "Zoo Performs First Reverse Vasectomy on Horse"] ''The Horse'' online edition, ''citing'' Associated Press, June 17, 2008.</ref>
== See also ==
{{commons|Equus przewalskii}}
* [[Mongolian horse|Mongolian domestic horse]]
* [[Wild horse]]
* [[Tarpan]]
* [[Onager]]
* [[Horse]], see subsection "wild species surviving into modern times"
* [[Reintroduction]]
*[[Feral horse]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
* Equid Specialist Group 1996. ''Equus ferus''. In: IUCN 2004. 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 24 December 2005. [http://www.redlist.org/search/details.php?species=41763]
* Equid Specialist Group 1996. ''Equus ferus ssp. przewalskii''. In: IUCN 2004. 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 16 February 2006. [http://www.redlist.org/search/details.php?species=7961]
* Forestry Commission. 2004. FC Wales turns clock back thousands of years with 'wild' solution to looking after ancient forest site. News release, No: 7001, 16 September 2004. [http://www.forestry.gov.uk/newsrele.nsf/c06604a4b305b4a680256a1c003c773c/4853459c0456cc6880256f0800494861!OpenDocument]
* International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. 2003. Opinion 2027 (Case 3010). Usage of 17 specific names based on wild species which are pre-dated by or contemporary with those based on domestic animals (Lepidoptera, Osteichthyes, Mammalia): conserved. Bull.Zool.Nomencl., 60:81-84. [http://www.iczn.org/BZNMar2003.htm].
*{{cite journal |last=Ishida |first=Nobushige |authorlink= |coauthors=''et al.'' |year=1995 |month= |title= Mitochondrial DNA sequences of various species of the genus ''Equus'' with special reference to the phylogenetic relationship between Przewalskii's wild horse and domestic horse |journal=Journal of Molecular Evolution |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=180–188 |doi=10.1007/BF00170671 |url= |accessdate= |quote= }}
*{{cite journal |last=Jansen |first=Thomas |authorlink= |coauthors=''et al.'' |year=2002 |month= |title=Mitochondrial DNA and the origins of the domestic horse |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|PNAS]] |volume=99 |issue=16 |pages=10905–10910 |doi=10.1073/pnas.152330099 |url= |accessdate= |quote=|pmid=12130666 }}
*{{cite journal |last=King |first=S. R. B. |authorlink= |coauthors=Gurnell, J. |year=2006 |month= |title=Scent-marking behaviour by stallions: an assessment of function in a reintroduced population of Przewalski horses (''Equus ferus przewalskii'') |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=272 |issue=1 |pages=30–36 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00243.x |url= |accessdate= |quote= }}
* Wakefield, S., Knowles, J., Zimmermann, W. and Van Dierendonck, M. 2002. "Status and action plan for the Przewalski's Horse (''Equus ferus przewalski'')". In: P.D. Moehlman (ed.) ''Equids: Zebras, Asses and Horses. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan'', pp. 82-92. IUCN/SSC Equid Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. [http://www.iucn.org/themes/SSC/sgs/equid/docs/part2chapter7.pdf]
*{{cite news |first=John Noble |last=Wilford |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Foal by Foal, the Wildest of Horses Is Coming Back |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/11/science/11hors.html |work=[[New York Times]] |publisher= |date=2005-10-11 |accessdate= }}
==External links==
*ARKive - [http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Equus_ferus_przewalskii/ images and movies of the Przewalski's horse ''(Equus ferus przewalskii)'']
*[http://www.treemail.nl/takh/index.htm Details of the re-introduction program for Przewalski's horse.]
*[http://www.zoo-munich.de/text.php?page=103242&v=100003 Breeding an reintroduction program of the Przewalski's horse at Zoo Hellabrunn Munich]
*[http://www.imh.org/imh/bw/prz.html Details of the history and captive breeding program for Przewalski's Horse.]
* [http://www.takhi.org/cms/index.php?=&lang=en Umbrella organization of all institutions participating in the reintroduction of takhis in Mongolia]
* [http://przwhorse.pikeelectronic.com/ General studbook of Przewalski's horse]
{{Equidae}}
[[Category:Equids]]
[[Category:Horse subspecies]]
[[Category:Fauna of Mongolia]]
[[Category:Natural history of Central Asia]]
[[Category:Natural history of China]]
[[bg:Кон на Пржевалски]]
[[cs:Kůň Převalského]]
[[da:Przewalski-hest]]
[[de:Przewalski-Pferd]]
[[et:Prževalski hobune]]
[[es:Equus caballus przewalskii]]
[[eo:Przevalski-ĉevalo]]
[[fr:Cheval de Przewalski]]
[[id:Kuda Przewalski]]
[[ia:Cavallo de Przewalski]]
[[it:Equus przewalskii]]
[[he:סוס פז'בלסקי]]
[[lt:Prževalskio arklys]]
[[hu:Przewalski-ló]]
[[nl:Przewalskipaard]]
[[no:Przewalskihest]]
[[pl:Koń Przewalskiego]]
[[pt:Cavalo-de-przewalski]]
[[ru:Лошадь Пржевальского]]
[[fi:Przewalskinhevonen]]
[[sv:Przewalski]]
[[zh:普氏野马]]
[[ro:Calul lui Przewalski]]