Four rare central Asian wild horses, whose breed was once near extinction, are now roaming a meadow overlooking Prague as the city’s zoo expands a breeding program that aims to rebuild their numbers. REUTERS
PRAGUE — Four rare central Asian wild horses, whose breed was once near extinction, are now roaming a meadow overlooking Prague as the city’s zoo expands a breeding program that aims to rebuild their numbers in the steppes of Asia.
The Prague Zoo released four Przewalski’s horses on a 20-hectare (50-acre) plain that provides a breeding ground for the short, stocky animals while the zoo rebuilds their permanent stables and enclosure.
The horses — which weigh between 250 to 360 kilograms (550 to 795 pounds) — at one point were extinct in the wild but now inhabit reintroduction sites in Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan.
“This whole project aims to recreate a steppe environment here with its original fauna and flora with the horses’ help,” Prague Zoo director Miroslav Bobek said on Thursday as the four mares grazed with the city in the background.
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The Prague Zoo has first relocated four mares named Khamiina, Xicara, Lana, and Gruhne, choosing them to ensure the greatest possible genetic diversity for future breeding. The zoo will later introduce a stallion.
The zoo in 1959 was charged with managing the international studbook for the species, which once ranged throughout Europe and Asia. The institution has been a leader in reintroducing the animals back into the wild.
