Przewalski’s Horse
The Przewalski's horse is the last true “wild” horse, meaning undomesticated by man. Some horse types, like the Mustang, are “feral” meaning that though they exist in the wild, they trace their lineage back to domestic animals. Przewalski’s horses have not been domesticated. These horses were named after the explorer Nikolai Przhevalsky.
Genus, Species & Subspecies - Equus ferus przewalskii, some consider it to be its own species, E. przewalskii
Common Names- Przewalski’s Horse, Dzungarian Horse, Mongolian Wild Horse, Asian Wild Horse
The Przewalksi’s horse lives in the steppes of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. This is not a sandy desert; though it is dry, the steppes are more like grasslands and savannas. They eat grass and other low vegetation. They live in social groups of females and young animals, led by a single stallion (male). At a certain age, young male horses are chased from the herd and must seek out a group of “bachelors”, or other young males.
Very little is known about the reproduction habits of the Przewalski’s horse due to its rarity. It may be similar to that of the domestic horse, which has breeding cycles in spring and summer, but more research is needed, especially to aid in captive breeding programs to help reintroduce more horses into the wild. It is known that gestation lasts about a year, and females give birth to a single foal. When an adult male finds a group of females he wishes to join, he must defeat the current male leader.
The Przewalski's horse differs from domestic horses, featuring shorter legs and a heavier, stockier build. Its mane is bristly and erect, and its coloration is a range of browns in a pangare style, with darker tones above fading to lighter on the underbelly and muzzle. This coat grows quite shaggy during the winter to keep the horse warm. They are usually smaller than most domestic horse breeds.
Przewalski’s horse, though wild, is not the ancestor of the domestic horse. DNA testing has shown that it is also not derived from domestic horses, meaning it is truly wild. It is believed to have diverged from the lineage of what would become the domestic horse around 150,000 years ago.
In 2018, a scientific study analyzed the DNA of domestic horses of the Botai culture that existed from 3700-3100 BC. This study found that the Botai horses were Przewalski's horses, which would mean that the horse had in fact been domesticated. However, the the Botai horse remains were further re-examined in 2021, and it was concluded that they had never been domesticated, and that Przewalski's horses are still truly considered "wild" and not "feral".
First described in the late 1800s, the Przewalski’s horse was thought to be completely extinct in the wild by the 1960s. Since then, captive breeding and reintroduction programs have helped bring the species back, and there are currently small wild populations in Mongolia and the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in the Ukraine. They are presently listed as “endangered”.