Historic distribution of wild horses

Palaeolithic art, dated between 20.000 to 9.000 BC, comprises many images of wild horses. The most famous works of art can be found in France (Lascaux, Niaux) and Spain (Altamira) and some of these images resemble Przewalski’s Horses. This prehistoric art demonstrates that wild horses once roamed the entire Eurasian steppes. Increasing colonization of humans contributed to the extinction of the large herbivores wild horse and wild cattle (Aurochs).

History of the Przewalski’s Horse

On one of his expeditions to Mongolia, the Russian explorer and geographer Nicolaj M. Przhevalsky (Przewalski is Polish) rediscovered the Mongolian Wild Horse. The “Takhi” - as the Mongols named this subspecies - had not been described in Linnaeus’ “Systema Naturae” (1758) and was unknown to western natural scientists until in 1881 Iwan S. Poljakow first examined the remains of one specimen and gave the “Takhi” the scientific name Equus przewalskii.

In the first half of the last century Przewalski’s horses were captured for western zoo collections. Many of the animals died during transport. And the majority of the remaining individuals suffered from the effects two world wars. Only 26 animals survived and 12 of these formed today’s population.

Between 1940 and 1950 only small groups of Przewalski’s horses were reported in the south west of Mongolia. Increasing competition with livestock, land use pressure (Sokolov et al 1992, Ryder 1993, Bouman & Bouman 1994) and military activities had led to a decline in population size. In the second half of the 20th century the wild population collapsed dramatically and the last wild Przewalski’s stallion was sighted in 1969. The Przewalski’s horse was extinct in its natural habitat.

 

Suggested Reading

Bouman, D. T. & Bouman, J.G. (1994): The history of the Przewalski’s horse (Equus ferus przewalskii) In Przewalski’s horse: The History and Biology of an endangered Species (L. Boyd & D.A. Houpt eds.) pp. 5 – 38. State University of New York Press • Albany.

Mohr, E. (1971): The Asiatic Wild Horse (J.A. Allen & Co. Ltd), London.

Ryder, O. (1990): Putting the wild horse back into the wild. In Przewalski’s Horse Global Conservation Plan.Zoological Society of San Diego, Centre for Reproduction of Endangered Species.

Ryder, O. (1993): The Przewalski’s horse: prospects for reintroduction into the wild. Conservation Biology 7: 13 – 15

Sokolov, V. E., Amarsanaa, G., Paklina, M.W., Posdnjakowa, M.K., Ratschkowskaja, E.I. and Chotoluu, N. (1992): Das letzte Przewalskipferd Areal und seine Geobotanische Characteristik. In Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on the Preservation of the Przewalski’s Horse(S. Seifert ed.) pp. 213 – 218 Zoologischer Garten Leipzig, Leipzig • Germany.