Re-establishing a self-sustaining Takhi population in the wild
Conservation focus:
Takhi (Przewalski's horse)
Scientific name:
Equus ferus przewalskii
Scientific classification:
Mammals, Perissodactyla, Equidae
IUCN status:
EDGE status:
EN (endangered)
Score 2.9, Rank 136 / 585 EDGE mammals
Threatened evolutionary history:
6 million years
Conservation priority by EDGE rank / ecosystem
Why it matters
A prime example of successfully reintroducing a large, formerly extinct-in-the wild animal species to its original habitat! The primordial wild horse (takhi, Przewalski’s horse), which was of great importance for the survival of Eurasian humans during the ice ages, is the last surviving caballine wild horse. Having almost followed the tarpan into extinction, it is a miracle that a few individuals survived in zoos and that the species could be rebuilt from just 13 founder animals.
The fact that these zoo animals were able to survive and even reproduce in the brutal climate of the Gobi is another wonder. This gives an evolutionarily unique, culturally and historically extremely important and ecologically demanding form of steppe fauna a chance to escape extinction. But it still needs support to do so. That's why we've been involved since 2006. Beyond the takhi, this programme also protects the unique Dzungarian Gobi steppe ecosystem, a critical stronghold of the Asiatic wild ass (khulan) as well as a multitude of other threatened species, including one of the rarest plants on Earth, the Bogeda snow lotus.
Project fast facts
Focal species' population trend
Increasing
Local conservation attention
Moderate
Range / Project area
Ecological role
Originally numbering in the millions, this was a keystone species of the Asian cold steppe, together with the Asiatic wild ass. Both species fulfil similar roles as largest steppe herbivores fertilizing wide areas with their dung.
Threats
Loss of habitat due to overgrazing by domestic goats, livestock infections, hybridization with domestic horses, severe weather (droughts, extreme winters), climate change and loss of migratory tradition after having been hunted to extinction in the wild.
Grant
First awarded:
$ 28,000 (since 2006)
23 November 2006
Score 2.9, Rank 136 / 585 EDGE mammals
Programme owner
International Takhi Group, Sihlwald, Switzerland
Programme contact
Altansukh Nanjid
Project location
Mongolia
Takhiin Tal Monument, Bij Altay, Mongolia
Addressing the need: Project goals
Secure the continued survival of the takhi (Przewalski's horse, primordial wild horse) in the wild.
Takhi were reintroduced to the wild in 1992.
The takhi (Przewalski's horse) is the only surviving wild caballine equid, and as primordial wild horse must not be confounded with feral horses.
This species, originally native to the steppe belt ranging from the Atlantic to the Pacific, was hunted for thousands of years, right down to extinction in the wild in the late 1960s. The last free-roaming individuals had been rounded up in a remote corner of Mongolia. At this time the species was critically endangered and only survived in a few zoos, with no more than 13 individuals leaving viable offspring.
It was saved through the dedication of a few individuals and a careful breeding programme, which allowed the International Takhi Group (ITG) to reintroduce the takhi to the wild in 1992 in Mongolia. Zoo-bred individuals were airlifted to Mongolia, where they started to breed naturally, surviving the unforgiving conditions of the Dzungarian Gobi. The population in the species' last refuge has now again reached some 300 individuals.
However, several threats continue to challenge the survival of this species in the wild. Key threats are habitat degradation through overgrazing, infections carried by domestic animals, severe climatic conditions (extreme cold, drought) and hybridization with free-ranging domestic horses.
Conservation actions
The 1wild grant consists of mostly annual contributions which support the ITG's work for securing a future for this equid, a unique and globally endangered species among the evolutionarily distinct equid clade.
As a service to ITG, from 2025 onward the ITG programme newsletter (published twice annually) is written by 1wild Foundation. A German and an English version are produced through a 1wild grant and distributed by ITG Switzerland. A Mongolian version is translated, produced and distributed by ITG Mongolia.
