The Kazakh Steppe, also known as the Great Dala, is a great expanse of land that stretches from northern Kazakhstan to Central Asia.
A patchwork of grasslands, savannas, and shrublands, the Kazakh Steppe is home to Saiga antelope, Siberian deer, foxes, badgers, Mongolian gerbils, Russian steppe tortoises — and a growing herd of wild Przewalski’s horses.
Last week, three Przewalski’s horses (named Zorro, Zeta II, and Ypsilon) traveled 3,000 miles — by truck and plane — from the Prague Zoo in Czechia to the Altyn Dala reserve in the The Kazakh Steppe.
They are the first of 40 horses that will join them in the next five years, in an attempt to rewild the species.
“We have been waiting for this moment for a very long time,” Albert Salemgareyev from the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity in Kazakhstan told AFP. “A lot of work has been carried out in recent months in order for the Przewalski horses to come to Kazakhstan.”
Przewalski’s horses were once native to Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China, but due to human interference, they disappeared from the wild completely in the 1960s.
Remarkably, all living Przewalski’s horses are descended from just 12 horses — all caught in the wild from 1910 to 1960. Through decades of conservation efforts led by a network of zoos and nature reserves, the species has been pulled back from the brink of extinction.
There are now 1,900 Przewalski's horses left on the planet. They are still listed as endangered, but their numbers are slowly growing. Rewilding efforts like these could ensure the continued survival of the species, which is widely regarded as the last “truly wild” horse species in the world.
Pavol Šepel’ák, an ambassador of the Czech Republic, said that the project has moved swiftly from its first conception in April 2023.
“I am very happy that we can return this beautiful animal to the land of its habitat,” Šepel’ák said in a press statement. “The project itself, which the Prague Zoo called the Return of Wild Horses 2024, has already had great success. … I am very glad that the first stage was accomplished in such a short period of time.”
The Altyn Dala reserve spans over 1.2 million acres, but the three horses will live in a center within the larger reserve for the first year of rehabilitation for their own protection.
“There, they will be monitored and the work will be carried out by veterinarians and scientific workers,” Vera Voronova, an executive director of the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative, told The Astana Times.
As more horses arrive over the next few years, the veterinarians and conservation workers will have to gradually adjust their operations, but the team welcomes the challenge.
“Of course, we will consider how to form groups among these horses,” Voronova explained. “They will continue to be monitored even after their release.”
Header image via Petr Jan Juračka / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
