The takh is the only wild relative of the domestic horse that has stayed wild during the cause of natural history. After their extinction from the wild in the 1960s, and after more than thirteen generations in captivity, the Przewalski horses were reintroduced into their natural environment in Mongolia.
The Original Habitat of the Przewalski Horse
The Przewalski horse is a dweller of the steppe. Until some 15,000 years ago this immense belt of grasslands stretched away from Manchuria in the East to the Iberian Peninsula in the West. The 30,000-year-old cave-drawings found in France and Spain depict a small stout wild horse with Przewalski-like features.
At one time, millions of large herbivores, such as auerochsen (urus), wild sheep, goats, horses and many others flocked the vast grasslands. However, the rise of agriculture and husbandry caused the wild horses to retreat into ever more inhospitable areas until the species finally became extinct from the wild in the desert of Southwest Mongolia in the 1960s.
Another species of wild horse, the tarpan, which succeeded to survive in Poland and in southern Russia, had already become extinct in 1879. The ancestor of our domestic cattle faced their doom at an earlier stage. Around the beginning of the thirteenth century the auerochs had become a rarity in Western Europe. How long it succeeded to hold out in Central Asia is unknown. However, around 1600 the auerochs disappeared definitively. The vanishing steppe dragged its inhabitants along in its demise.
How the Reintroduction of Przewalski Horses into Mongolia helped the Hustai National Park
The protection and sustainable preservation of the wild horses, coincided with the protection and conservation of the pristine steppes of Mongolia. A beautiful 50,000 acres large nature reserve was chosen for the reintroduction. This reserve, Hustain Nuruu, dominated by the sacred Hustai Mountain, which has been the long time object of worship among the locals, has an abundant flora and fauna. Thanks to the reintroduction of the takhi - Mongolia's national symbol - Hustain Nuruu was upgraded to the status of National Park, which guarantees the sustainable conservation and protection of this mountain steppe ecosystem.
Przewalski horses are among the most threatened wildlife species in the world. The entire world population consists of no more than 1,435 individual animals
(Studbook Prague, 01.01.2000). The Red List (IUCN) of Endangered Species classifies the species as extinct. Przewalski horses fall under Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora (CITES), which makes it an offence to trade them. Every transaction, for instance exchange between breeding groups, must be accompanied by the official documents of approval.
What Przewalski Horses Look Like...
Measuring between 1.24m and 1.44m, the Przewalski horse is almost as big as a sturdy pony. The low withers together with the slightly sloping croup give it a compact side-view. The pony-like head is proportionally big compared with the rest of the body.
The black-rimmed ears tip inward. The muzzle and the rings that encircle the high implanted dark but bright eyes, have a mealy colour. Nostrils and lips are dark gray.
The coat comes in variations from light brown to sandy and even reddish bay (fox); the belly is somewhat lighter. A very characteristic feature is the dark dorsal band, which runs from the erect manes into the ass-like tail. The short light-coloured bristly hairs are placed above the long black hairs of the tail. The legs are black or dark brown and often have zebra stripes. Like all other members of the horse family, the Przewalski horse has oval horny chestnuts on the inside of each hind leg below the hock, as well as above the knee on each foreleg. The main moult is in the autumn when the short summer coat is replaced by longer hairs. By winter, a thick beard has appeared on cheeks and throat, fetlocks grow long tufts of hair, and dock hairs form a fan that, when the animal turns tail to the wind, protects it against wintry cold and blast of driving snow.
How the Horses Live in the Wild...
Przewalski horses are almost constantly on the move through their home range. The size of a home range varies from 300 to 3200 ha. The biggest wanderlust can be found in the bachelor stallions: they can cover distances of more than 22 kilometers a day. The size of the area, through which a group daily treks, depends on the season and they remain more localised in winter. The harems try to live as far apart from each other as possible to avoid unexpected encounters and fighting. Only in winter will these distances shrink. Then other animals such as Mongolian gazelles and red deer (marals) will seek the company of the wild horses, in the hope that this may strengthen them against wolf attacks.
In summer, the herds wander daily to their favourite spots of vegetation and preferred brooklets to graze and quench their thirst. They relax against the mountain ridges, high rockeries or in the woods to enjoy the refreshing breeze or to escape from stinging insects. In summer, they preferably graze during the early morning and in the cool of the evening. At the hottest moment of the day, and in the middle of the night, they rest. At night, they are very vulnerable, so one of them will keep vigil to alarm the others in case of danger. When it is gets cooler, the groups tend to remain in valleys, where most of the brooklets are, and there is no reason to move to a higher altitude. In spring, winter and autumn they use more time to find food. During these seasons, food quality diminishes considerably, so horses have to eat greater quantities of higher-fibre food to remain in shape. Life becomes more hazardous in the snow. The snow that fills the clefts is deep and the Przewalskis have to be very careful. A hoof may get stuck between the rocks. Fortunately, the often strong wind will clear much of the powder snow, revealing the succulent greens underneath.
Mongolia has long winters, which last from October to May, so before winter sets in, the Przewalski horses have to be in good condition.
Social behaviour of Przewalski Horses...
Przewalski horse behaviour is remarkably synchronised in a harem. They all graze and rest at the same time. When some of the horses start to nibble one another, the others will follow suit. Frolicsome foals or rolling older ones instantly invite others to join in with the fun. Skin care is very important. They like to scratch themselves against rocky surfaces, shrubs or to roll in the sand. Yet, they cannot reach their own backs. The help of others is needed. Standing head to tail they nibble one another's skin. This is called mutual grooming, which not only has a pure practical function, but also furthers mutual bonding and works as a stress relief for the whole group.
Dominance hierarchy is essential for the ordering of social contacts. Establishing a clear social hierarchy means that each individual knows his position in the group, which leads to less aggression and more harmony. Internal fighting results in a loss of valuable energy and increases the chance of getting wounded - and survival in the wild requires much energy. Wounds attract parasites and can be the cause of dangerous if not lethal infections.
The leading stallion is often the most dominant one in a harem, followed by the mares and the younger members in the group. The older and most aggressive mares rank highest in the hierarchy. The stallion expresses his top rank position by herding his mares, using a characteristic ' snaking' posture with his head held low and ears flat back. The mares set their mutual disputes by lowering their ears and their neck and intimidating the other with bite threats or kicks with the hind legs.
The Przewalski horses at Hustai National Park display less aggressiveness to one another than their congenitors in captivity do. Here there is plenty of space to be able to side-step from conflict. Young stallions can move out of sight from the native groups from which their fathers expelled them. In this manner they will avoid renewed aggression from their fathers. In zoos they cannot run away.
A harem stallion marks the urine of his mares with his own. In this way he not only communicates to other stallions that these are his mares, but also finds out whether a mare is in season or not. Dung piles serve a different purpose. Communal dung piles are a means of communication between the different harem stallions. By marking it with his own dung a stallion signals his presence. A passing stallion 'reads' the pile in a ritualised manner by sniffing the scent, walking over it, dropping his own dung and finally, sniffing his own freshly deposited scent markings. In this way the stallion learns whether other stallions passed the spot recently or did so at an earlier moment. The dung piles accomplish not only a social function in the contacts between the various groups, but they also function as some kind of orientation mark.
An encounter between two leading stallions takes a ritualised course. The two dash into each other. Once they are close, they approach one another with crested necks and sniff noses. Mostly this will elicit a squeal and one or both may strike out with a front leg. Thereafter, they sniff at each other's genitals and noses. When a fight seems unavoidable, the opponents will rear and box with their front legs and bite one another fiercely in the flanks and legs. The hostilities will go on until the weaker party is chased away and the victor has rejoined his mares. However, most encounters between family stallions rarely end in violence. Encounters with mature bachelor stallions are far more hostile. Such confrontations are very violent and often lead to severe injury. In the course of many encounters the stallions learn to respect each other's force. This helps them to decide whether they should avoid a particular harem stallion, or just take the opportunity to dispute a drinking place, or even mares.
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