The Przewalski's horse ( (p) sh? - VAHL -skee ; Polish: Ã, [p? 'valsk? i] ; Khalkha Mongolian: ???? , takhi ; Ak Kaba Tuvan: [ da ??//da ?? ] dagy ; Equus ferus przewalskii ) or the Dzungarian horse , is a rare and endangered subspecies of wild horses ( Equus ferus ) i>) is from the middle of the Asian steppes. At one time extinct in the wild (in Mongolia, the last Przewalski wild horse was seen in 1966), has been reintroduced into its native habitat in Mongolia in the Khustain Nuruu National Park, Takhin Tal Nature Reserve and Khomiin Tal. The taxonomic position is still disputed, and some taxonomists treat the Przewalski horse as a species, Equus przewalskii .
Common names for these horses include takhi , Asia wild horses and Mongolian wild horses , These horses are named after Russian geographer and explorer (from the Polish ancestors ) Nikolay Przhevalsky (Polish name: Miko? Aj Przewalski).
Most of today's "wild" horses, such as American mustangs or Australian britters, are actually wild horses that are descended from pets that escape and adapt to life in the wild. The Przewalski horse may never have been domesticated and has long been considered the only wild horse still in existence today. However, the 2018 DNA study shows that modern Przewalski horse may descend from a cultivated Botai horse.
The Przewalski horse is one of the three known subspecies of Equus ferus, the other is the Equus falan caballus horse, and the extinct pale Equus ferus ferus . There are still a number of other wild horses, including three species of zebra and various subspecies of wild African mules, onagers (including Mongolian wild donkeys), and kiang.
Video Przewalski's horse
Taxonomy
The Przewalski horse was described in 1881 by L. a, S., Poliakov, although the position of the Przewalski horse taxonomy remains controversial and there is no consensus whether it is a full species ( Equus przewalskii ), subspecies of wild horses (< i> Equus ferus przewalskii ), or even the sub-population of a domestic horse ( Equus ferus caballus ).
Maps Przewalski's horse
Lineage
Early DNA sequencing studies reveal some of the genetic characteristics of Przewalski's horse which is different from what is seen in modern domestic horses, indicates neither is the other ancestor, and supports the status of Przewalski's horse as a residual wild population that does not originate from domestic horses. The date of about 45,000 YBP is estimated for the evolutionary differences of the modern domestic lineage of the Przewalski horse, while archaeological records show the first horse domestication occurring around 5,500 YBP by the Botai culture. Both of these lineages spit well before domestication, perhaps because of climate, topography, or other environmental changes.
Some subsequent DNA research yielded a partially contradictory result. A 2009 molecular analysis using ancient DNA found from archaeological sites puts Przewalski's horse in the middle of a pet horse, but analysis of mitochondrial DNA 2011 suggests that Przewalski and modern domestic horses strayed about 160,000 years ago. Analysis based on the sequencing and calibration of entire genomes with DNA from old horse bones gave the date of difference 38-72 thousand years ago.
New analysis of early DNA in 2018 carried out genomic sequencing in the 4th century BC. The domestic horse botai and reveal that they are from the same genetic lineage as the Przewalski horses, only contributes to the neglected genetic for modern domestic horses, which then must mainly come from independent domestication involving different populations of wild horses. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the Przewalski horse is descended away from this ancient domestic Botai horse, rather than representing the last line of 'wild' horses.
The domestic horse karyotype differs from the Przewalski horse by an extra pair of chromosomes due to the fission of the horse chromosome 5 to produce the horse chromosomes of Przewalski 23 and 24. By comparison, the chromosomal differences between domestic and zebra horses include many translocations, fusion, inversions and centromere repositioning. The Przewalski horse is known to have the highest number of diploid chromosomes among all species of horses. Przewalski horse can mate with domestic horses and produce fertile offspring (65 chromosomes).
Population
Every Przewalski horse that lives today is derived from 9 of the 13 horses captured in 1945. Two of them are hybrids, derived from wild horses and domestic horses and others from wild horses and tare horses. The 13 horses are handed down alternately from about 15 people arrested around 1900. A cooperative effort between the Zoological Society of London and Mongolian scientists has resulted in the successful reintroduction of these horses from the zoo to their natural habitat in Mongolia; and in 2011 there was an estimated free population of over 300 in the wild. Of the population of 13 horses held in 1945, the total number in the early 1990s was over 1,500.
The population introduced in 1998 is in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone protected from human interference, and is considered to be increasing in size.
Reproduction
Female przewalski is able to give birth at age three and has a gestation period of about 11 to 12 months. Their reproductive process is seasonal and in Mongolian seasons towards the end of May, June or July. Male marriages do not start looking for mates until the age of five. Instinctively, the stallion will seek to create a group of mare herself or roam until he finds a group with its own leader. If a horse finds a cluster of horses with its own leader, the stallion will usually fight the stallion of the other group leader. The horses will adjust and follow the winner. After birth, the foal can stand almost instantly (only about an hour or so) and can walk on its own. The foals drink milk from the mother stall.
Characteristics
Przewalski's horse is built strongly compared to a pet horse, with shorter legs. Typical height is about 12-14 hands (48-56 inches, 122-142 cm), about 2.1 m (6 ft 11 inches) in length. It weighs about 300 kilograms (660 pounds). The coat is generally dun in color with the pangarÃÆ'Â © feature, varying from dark brown around the mane (standing up) to the pale brown in the pelvis and the yellowish white on the abdomen and around the muzzle. Przewalski's horse legs are often striped, also typical of primitive signs. The tail is approximately 90 cm (35.43 inches) long, with a longer dock and shorter hair than is seen on a pet horse.
The Przewalski horse cock is longer behind and has a single horn that is thicker than a wild horse. This is useful because it improves nail performance.
The Przewalski horse has 66 chromosomes, compared with 64 other horse species.
Behavior
In the wild, Przewalski's horses live in small, permanent family groups consisting of one adult stallion, one to three horses, and their children. The offspring live in family groups until they are no longer dependent, usually on two or three years. Male horses, and sometimes a stallion, join a bachelor group. Family groups can join together to form moves that move together.
Their pattern of everyday life shows the behavior of horses that are similar to a herd of wild horses. Stallions herd, drive, and defend all their family members, while horses often display leadership in the family. Horses and horses live with their partner of choice for years. While synchronizing high behavior among horses, the horses other than the main harem horses are generally less stable in this regard.
Horses maintain visual contact with their families and flocks at all times and have a number of ways to communicate with each other, including vocalizations, marking scents, and various visual and tactile signals. Any kick, man, ear cock, or other contact with another horse is a means of communicating. This constant communication leads to a complex social behavior among Przewalski's horses.
Diet
The Przewalski horse diet consists mostly of vegetation. There are many plant species in the typical Przewalski horse environment including: Elymus repens , Carex spp. , Fabaceae, and Asteraceae. While horses eat different types of plants, they tend to like one species for a certain time of the year. In other words, the Przewalski horse has a seasonal food preference. In the spring, Przewalski's horse likes Elymus repens, Corynephorus canescens, Festuca valesiaca, and Chenopodium albums. In the early summer they liked Dactylis glomerata Trifolium and at the end of summer they were interested in Elymus repens and < i> Vicia cracca . In winter, for example, horses eat Salix spp. , Pyrus communis , Malus sylvatica , Pinus sylvestris , Rosa spp. , and Alnus spp. In addition, the Przewalski horse may dig for Festuca spp. , Bromus inermis and Elymus repens growing under ice and snow. The Przewalski horse winter diet is very similar to a domestic horse diet. Studies show that in the winter, Przewalski horse suffers from hypodermis. Hypodermis is a condition in which one's metabolic rate slows down. This means that in the winter, Przewalski's horse processes their food more slowly than at any other time of the year. Looking at the overall diet of the species, however, Przewalski horses most often eat Elicus repens, Trifolium pratense Vicia cracca
Water, along with grassy vegetation, is another major component of the Przewalski horse diet. A study, conducted by K.M. Scheibe and his team of scientists, documenting the water consumption of 12 Przewalski female horses living in the semireserve for 17 months. Their results show that, on average, a Przewalski horse drinks between 2.4 and 8.3 liters of water per day, which is less than the amount of domestic horse drinking water every day. In fact, the Przewalski horse that consumed the most water in the study drank an average of 8.6 liters of water a day. This is almost equal to the lowest water consumption for domestic horses, which is 8.4 liters a day.
History
In the 15th century, Johann Schiltberger recorded one of the first European horses sightings in his travel journal to Mongolia as a Mongol Khan prisoner. This horse is named after the Russian colonel Nikolai Przhevalsky (1839-1888) (the name is of Polish origin and "Przewalski" is a Polish spelling). He was the explorer and naturalist who first described the horse in 1881, after going on an expedition to find it, based on rumors of its existence. Many of these horses were caught around 1900 by Carl Hagenbeck and placed in the zoo. As noted above, about twelve to fifteen are reproduced and the current population is formed.
Indigenous peoples declined in the 20th century due to a combination of factors, with wild populations in Mongolia dead in the 1960s. The last flock was seen in 1967 and the last individual horse in 1969. The expedition after this failed to find horses, and the species has been established "extinct in the wild" for over 30 years.
After 1945 only two captive populations in the remaining zoo, in Munich and in Prague. The most valuable group, in Askania Nova, Ukraine, was shot by German soldiers during the occupation of World War II, and the group in the United States was dead. Competition with livestock, hunting, fishing foals for zoological collections, military activities, and harsh winters recorded in 1945, 1948 and 1956 were considered the main causes of the population decline of Przewalski's horse. In the late 1950s, only 12 Przewalski horses were individuals left in the world.
In 1977, the Przewalski Horse Preservation and Protection Foundation was established in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, by Jan and Inge Bouman. The foundation initiated an exchange program between breeding populations in zoos around the world to reduce inbreeding, and then started their own breeding program. As a result of these efforts, the remaining flocks have retained a much greater genetic diversity than possible genetic congestion.
Since 1986, Chinese researchers have cultivated Prezewalski horses in captivity, with the program seeing more than twenty years of success.
In 1992, sixteen horses were released into the wild in Mongolia, followed by additional animals later on. One of the areas in which they were reintroduced into the Khrest Nuruu National Park in 1998. Another reintroduction site is the Great GobiÃ, B Protected Area strictly, located on the outskirts of the Gobi desert. Finally, in 2004 and 2005, 22 horses were released by the Takh Association to a third reintroduction site in the buffer zone of Khar Us Nuur National Park, at the northern end of the Gobi ecoregion. In the winter of 2009-2010, one of the worst "dzud" or winter conditions has ever attacked Mongolia. Prezewalski horse populations in Great Gobi B SPA are drastically affected, providing clear evidence of the risks associated with reintroducing small and isolated species in unpredictable and unknown environments.
Since 2011, the Prague Zoo has transported twelve horses to Mongolia in three rounds, in collaboration with partners (Czech Air Force, European Breeding Program for Przewalski Horse, Association pour de cheval du Przewalski: Takh, Czech Development Agency, Czech Embassy in Mongolia and others) and plan to continue returning the horse to the wild in the future. In the framework of the Return of the Wild Horses project it sustains its activities by supporting the local population. The zoo has a long unbroken history of Przewalski horse breeding in the world and keeps the guidebooks of this species.
The re-introduced horses were successfully reproduced, and the animal's status changed from "extinct in the wild" to "endangered" in 2005. On the IUCN Red List, they were reclassified from "extinct in the wild" to "highly endangered" after a reassessment in 2008 and from "highly endangered" to "threatened" after a 2011 reassessment.
Conservation efforts
While dozens of zoos around the world have small Przewalski horses, there are also special reserves dedicated primarily to the species. The world's largest breeding program for Przewalski horse is in the preservation of Askania Nova in Ukraine. Several dozen Przewalski horses were also released in the area evacuated after the Chernobyl accident, which now serves as an empty de facto nature preserve. In Chernobyl, the population is reproduced at a high level, reaching up to 200 individuals until the hunters reduce their number to only 60 in recent years. In 2011, it is estimated that only 30-40 people are left. The immensely free population of exposed animals was also introduced at the Hortobila National Park pdazza in Hungary; data on the social structures, behaviors and diseases collected from these animals were used to enhance Mongolia's conservation efforts.
Some American zoos also collaborated on breeding Equus ferus przewalskii from 1979 to 1982. Recent advances in horse reproductive science in the United States also have the potential to further preserve and expand the gene pool. In October 2007, scientists at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo successfully reversed the vasectomy on the Przewalski horse - the first operation of its kind in this species and possibly the first in an endangered species. While vasectomy can usually be performed on endangered animals in limited circumstances, especially if an individual has produced many offspring and genes occupying an excessive population, scientists realize that the animal is one of the most genetically valued Przewalski horses in the North American Breeding Program. The first birth with artificial insemination occurred on July 27, 2013 at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.
Le Villaret, located in the Cevennes National Park in southern France and run by the Takh Association, is a breeding ground for Przewalski's horse that was created to allow the free expression of Przewalski's natural horse behavior. The eleven horses born in the zoo were brought to LeÃ, Villaret in 1993. The horses born there adapted to life in the wild: they were free to choose their own spouses and had to feed themselves. This unique breeding site is required to produce individuals who were reintroduced to Mongolia in 2004 and 2005. In 2012 there were 39 individuals at Le Villaret.
The Przewalski Horse Reintroduction Project in China began in 1985 when 11 wild horses were imported from abroad. After more than two decades of effort, the Xinjiang Horse Breeding Center has raised a large number of horses, which were released into the Kalamely mountains. Animals quickly adapt to their new environment. In 1988, six foals were born and survived, and in 2001 there were more than 100 horses in the center. In 2013, the center will host 127 horses divided into 13 breeding herds and three bachelor flocks.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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