Przewalski's Horse is the only truly wild horse left in the world.  Descended from a prehistoric breed, it is the ancestor of all modern horses but can now only be seen in zoos. Przewalski's Horse is the only one of several species to survive into the post glacial period.  Its sturdy and rugged appearance sets it apart from today's domestic breeds.  It is our last link with an ancient, primitive breed of horse.

Facts and Knowledge:

Habits:  At the end of the Ice Age, dense woodlands began to grow tundra and grasslands.  The horses that had lived there withdrew with the glaciers and migrated to Eurasia where they found more suitable areas of grassy plains.   One of the early horses, now known as Przewalski's horse, originally roamed the Eurasian plains in large herds.  Gradually over the centuries, its range and numbers dwindled until it only grazed on the arid, semi desert plains on either side of the mountains that form the boundary between Mongolia and China.  Przewalski's horse was last sighted in its natural habitat in 1968. It is uncertain whether it still exists in the wild.

Breeding In its natural habitat, Przewalski's horse roams in small herds.  These herds consist of a few mares (females) and young horses, lead by a stallion (male).  Mares comes into season at regular intervals, but usually mate in May so that the foals are born at about the same time the following year.  A mare usually gibes birth during the night to a single foal, which is strong enough by morning to move with the herd.  If a foal lags behind a herd on the move the stallion will group the base of the foals tail in its teeth and nudge it along.  The mare suckles her foal for several months to a year.  However, when the foal is a few months old its teeth are developed enough to graze.  A filly (female foal) may stay with the herd.  The stallion drives out the young males after a year.  Young males herds until they are strong enough to gather their own harems of mares.

Food & Feeding:  Przewalski's horse is a grazer and lives on course grass and branches and sparse foliage from shrubby trees.  It feeds at dusk, constantly on the move as it tears away at grass and leaves.  In winter it may have to dig through layers of snow to find any food.  At daybreak, it returns to its desert habitat to rest until sunset.  As the horses move between resting areas and feeding grounds they etch well warn and deeply trodden paths into the plains.

Przewalski's Horse and Man: Przewalski's horse has been domesticated for centuries, but man has never truly tamed it.  Although the horse was a family, sight to local Asian tribes, it was deemed discovered in the 1880's by Russian explorer Nicolai Przewalski's and was named after him.  Humans are responsible for the decline of  Przewalski's horse.  It has been slaughtered for its meat, driven from its sparse grazing areas, and allowed to interbreed with other domestic horses.

Key Facts: Sizes, Weight, breeding, lifestyle, related Species
Height: From about 12 hands high (1 hand = 4 in.).
Weight: About 800 lbs

Breeding:
Sexual Maturity: 1  - 2 years Stallions (males) about 3 years.
Mating Season: Usually April or May.
Gestation: 11-12 months
No of Young: 1

Lifestyle:
Habit: Lives in small herds
Diet:  Grass and plants.
Life span: At least 20 years.

Related Species: Przewalski's horse is the only subspecies of Equus caballus.  All others horse, asses, and zebras, are members of the same family.
Distribution: Once found from the Ural Mountains to Mongolia.  Now confined to plains on either side of the Altai Mountains on the borders of Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Siberia.
Conservation: Listed as an endangered species, it is probably extinct in the wild.  Breeding in captivity has saved it from complete extinction.  About 300 horses live in zoos around the world.

Features of Przewalski's horse:
Mane: Short, stiff, brush like hairs that stand erect. No Forelock.
Head: Large and thick, with a broad muzzle. Sandy colored nose.
Body: Stocky, with short legs. Low slung shoulders that blend into the back.  this gives it a more primitive look than other domestic horses.
Coat: Yellow brown, paler on the belly, with black mane, tail, and lower legs.  the coat grows very thick and woolly in the winter.
Tail:  Trails almost to the ground.  The base has a fan of short, stiffer hairs, similar to the mane.

Did you know?
Przewalski's horse is the only living wild horse species.
The foal of Przewalski's horse weighs about five percent weight about five percent of its mother's weight at birth. In contrast, the foals of domestic horses weigh about 10 percent of their mother's weight.
The Altai mountains where Przewalski's horse once roamed are also known as The Mountains of the Yellow Horses.
Although Przewalski's horse is generally considered to be the ancestor of the modern horse, some experts think that the two descended from a now extinct common ancestor and evolved independently from one another.
The Przewalski's horse's order, Perissodactyla, includes all mammals with an odd number of toes.
The horses foot is actually a single fingertip, with the last bone widened and rounded into a hoof.  This special adaptation allows the horse to run swiftly.


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