On June 5, a ceremony was held to reintroduce Przewalski’s horses into the Altyn Dala Nature Reserve in the Kostanay region of Kazakhstan.
A Czech military plane transported eight Przewalski’s horses from the Prague Zoo for reintroduction into the territory of the Altyn Dala state nature reserve. In total, 40 wild horses are to be returned to their historical homeland, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources reported.
The transport of Przewalski’s horses from Europe to Kazakhstan has taken place as part of an international project, “Return of Wild Horses”.
The Prague Zoo director Miroslav Bobek commented earlier this year, “We have just started writing the new chapter of the return of the last wild horse to the wilderness. After its successful reintroduction to Mongolia where the population thrives, we were contacted by the government of Kazakhstan with this same goal. Our plan is to transport about 40 horses to the Altyn Dala steppe during the next five years.”
The Przewalski’s horse completely disappeared from the wild in the late 1960s, but is also one of the greatest success stories of species recovery under human care. Dedicated breeding programs of European zoos have managed to build up a population strong enough to be reintroduced to the countries where they used to live. The wild horses will be reintroduced to Kazakhstan using the successful experience from Prague Zoo’s previous reintroductions to Mongolia.
The steppe territory of the Altyn Dala State Nature Reserve in the Kostanay region has been chosen as the release area. The reserve was established in 2012 and its total area is 489,766 hectares. The animals will be accommodated for the first year before release at the Wild Ungulate Reintroduction Center inside the reserve.
The Przewalski’s horse reintroduction project is implemented in partnership between the Committee for Forestry and Wildlife of Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, Prague Zoo, ACBK, Frankfurt Zoological Society, Nuremberg Zoo, Tierpark Berlin and Hortobágy National Park.
Photo: Kazakh Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources
