Equus caballus przewalskii
Przewalski's wild horse

Przewalski's wild horse is found in the Altai Mountains of Mongolia (Denver Zoo 1997).

Przewalski's wild horse inhabits grassy deserts and plains in Western Mongolia, but it has been reported to have lived at elevations of up to eight thousand feet (Volf 1990).

Head-body length: 7 feet

Shoulder height: 4 feet

Tail length: 3 feet (Lowry Park Zoo)

Przewalski's wild horse is stocky with short legs and a short neck, looking very pony-like (Burton 1962). Its head is massive with a long face and a powerful jaw. The upper and lower incisors are used for cutting vegetation, while its many hypsodont cheek teeth are used for grinding. With eyes set far back in the skull, it is able to view a wide field, making the only blind spot directly behind its head. The ears are fairly long and erect, but can be moved for the localization of sounds (Lowry Park Zoo).

A stiff, erect blackish mane runs down the back. The legs are slender. The tail hairs are of graduated lengths. In the summer its pelage is short and smooth. back and sides are reddish-brown. The coloration turns to a yellowish white on its belly. In the winter its pelage becomes longer and lighter in color (Denver Zoo 1997).

Przewalski's wild horse spends more than half the day foraging for food. It has been seen spending the day in the desert, traveling to grazing and watering areas after sun-down and returning to the desert in the morning (Volf 1990).

It socializes in large herds consisting of a few females and a male who leads the permanent group. There have been sightings of young solitary stallions, a result of the leader having driven the younger and weaker males from the herd.

Shy and alert to avoid enemies, Przewalski's horse has a shrill voice. It can also detect smell and sound at great distances. Its moods can be detected through changes in the positions of its ear, mouth and tail (Denver Zoo 1997).

Przewalski's wild horse is an herbivore, eating grass, plants and fruit. It sometimes eats bark, leaves and buds. It is fed hay, grain and alfalfa in the zoos (Denver Zoo 1997).

Its meat has been hunted, but other than that, it has never been domesticated by man (Burton 1962).

Endangered (Baillie 1996)

The only true wild horse, Przewalski's wild horse has not been seen in its natural habitat since 1968, probably partly as a result of crossing with half-wild domesticated horses and losing its distinct features. It declined drastically because of excessive hunting by people and loss of grazing and watering areas to domestic animials (Nowak 1991).

It has been kept and bred in zoos with only 200 remaining today. In the late twentieth century, Mongolia tried to reintroduce it into the wild (Britannica).

There is a Przewalski's Horse Global Conservation Plan in the works, as humans attempt to preserve the surviving genetic diversity (Swaringen et al. 1997).

A famous Russian explorer and naturalist who made several expeditions to Central Asia, General Nikolai Michailovitch Przewalski discovered the wild horse in western Mongolia in 1879 (Gotch 1979, Volf 1990).