Przewalski’s horse

Another animal in need of support from captive breeding efforts is this species of horse. Przewalski’s horse (also referred to as the Asian or Mongolian wild horse) is so heavily interbred with domestic horses that just 2,000 true descendants exist.

Przewalski’s horses formerly roamed Europe and Asia. Pressure from man and cattle, as well as ecological factors, drove the horse east to Asia, where it became extinct in nature. They are now found exclusively at restoration sites in Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan.

These horses are the world’s last wild horses. The “wild” horses that exist in Australia, North America’s western plains, and the East Coast barrier islands are feral domestic horses that fled from farms and ranches and went back to the wild.