ASTANA – Seven more Przewalski’s horses, also known by the ancient Kazakh names Kerkulan and Kertagy, arrived in Kazakhstan on June 3 as part of an international effort to restore the species in its historic habitat, with plans to bring around 45 animals by 2029.
Photo credit: The Astana Times/ Nagima Abuova. Click to see the map in full size. The map is designed by The Astana Times.
The horses arrived from the Prague Zoo (Czech Republic) and Hungary’s Hortobagy National Park and were transported by military aircraft to the Altyn Dala State Nature Reserve in the Kostanai Region. The animals will spend a year in enclosures at the Ungulate Reintroduction Center before being released into the wild.
Kazakhstan began reintroducing Przewalski’s horses last June, when the first seven were brought from the Prague Zoo to the Altyn Dala Reserve. The Forestry and Wildlife Committee confirmed the smooth adaptation of the first group.
An unexpected incident occurred during transport when a video circulated on social media showing one of the horses escaping en route to the Prague airport. The animal was later safely captured and returned to the Prague Zoo.
Przewalski’s horses are the last truly wild horses native to the steppes of Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China. They are named after the Russian explorer Nikolai Przhevalsky, who described the species in the late 19th century.
