Takhi reintroduction

230301405

Project grant Nr.

Target species

Takhi (Przewalski's horse)

Equus przewalskii

Mammals, Perissodactyla, Equidae

Schutzstatus der IUCN:

EN (endangered)

EDGE status:

186

Why engage?

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 three locations 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.

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.

Need / 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.

Conservation action

Programme partner

Programme location

Takhiin Tal Monument, Bij Altay, Mongolia

Funding

Datum der Verleihung:

$ 28,000 (since 2006)

23.11.06, 00:00

The species

Range

Habitat

Threats

Population trend

Conservation attention

Conservation need

A number of factors threaten the survival of this super-rare canid. High altitude Afroalpine grasslands are crucial pastureland for the local people’s livestock, and heathlands provide firewood. Increasing livestock populations may be already exerting unsustainable pressure, degrading the Afroalpine ecosystem in many places and reducing the wolves' prey (rodents). Already, 60% of former Ethiopian wolf habitat (i.e. land above the tree-line) has been converted to agriculture. Human encroachment continues due to high population growth. With the herders come domestic dogs, which are numerous in the Ethiopian mountains. They act as reservoirs for infectious diseases, notably rabies and canine distemper. Moreover, given the very small global population of Ethiopian wolves, inbreeding and hybridisation form an additional threat. A handful of hybrid wolves were recorded in the Web Valley of the Bale Mountains in the 1980-90s, the result of crosses between female wolves and male domestic dogs. Political instability and conflict due to livestock predation can lead to killings of Ethiopian wolves, especially in the northern highlands. As more roads are built and traffic increases steadily, so does the risk of wolves being killed by vehicles.

Addressing the need

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 three locations 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.

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.

Conservation action specifics

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