Reintroduction of the Przewalski’s Horse in China: Status Quo and Outlook

Abstract

The Przewalski's horse Equus ferus przewalskii was extinct in the wild in the middle of the XX century. Since 1985, the Chinese government has formulated a three-step plan of «the introduction of captive breeding horses-establishing a semi-free population-the restoration of a population in the wild� and carried out the reintroduc-a population in the wild� and carried out the reintroduc-population in the wild� and carried out the reintroduc-in the wild� and carried out the reintroduc-wild� and carried out the reintroduction of the Przewalski's horse. The first three batches of wild horses were introduced to the Xinjiang Wild Horse Breeding Centre, the Wuwei Endangered Species Breeding Centre and the Beijing Nanhaizi Milu Park. After acclimation and captive breeding, those Przewalski's horses were softly released into the nature reserves in its original ranges in the Mt. Kalamaili Nature Reserve, the Anxi Extreme-arid Desert Nature Reserve and the Dunhuang West Lake Nature Reserve in the new millennium. The released horses are allowed to retain to the large fenced areas at releasing sites with supplementary feed and water. Thus, the wild horses in Chine formed the Xinjiang population, the Wuwei-Dunhuang population and the Beijing-Anxi population. All 23 wild horses that survived in the Anxi Extreme-arid Desert Nature Reserve in 2017 were born after the re-translocation from the Beijing Nanhaizi Milu Park. The number of wild horses in the Beijing Nanhaizi Milu Park increased from two in 1998 to five by the end of 2018. By the end of 2018, there are 413 wild horse descendants from the reintroduced herd in the Xinjiang population. Among them, 89 wild horses were kept in the breeding paddocks of the Xinjiang Wild Horse Breeding Centre, 102 were semi-free ranging in the fenced area of the centre, and 221 re-wild horses lived in the Mt. Kalamaili Nature Reserve. Meanwhile, the Przewalski's horse population in the Dunhuang West Lake Nature Reserve increased to 60. The Wuwei Endangered Animal Breeding Centre released seven wild horses in its Minqin Qinghu Base near the Badanjilin desert. Habitat deterioration, inbreeding, parasitic diseases, wolf predation, infanticide and crossbreeding with domestic horses are the major problems in all Przewalski's horse populations in China. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Working Group downgraded the Przewalski's horse to the status of «Endangered� mainly based on the status of wild horses in Mongolia. Nevertheless, the Red List category of the Przewalski's horse in China was still «Extinct in Wild� because the wild horses in these populations still need artificial supplementary feed and water, also need to add new breeding individuals. Thus, a real wild population has not yet been established in China.

Effects of Gasterophilus pecorum infestation on the intestinal microbiota of the rewilded Przewalski’s horses in China

“…The Przewalski’s horse ( Equus ferus przewalskii ) is a large and endangered wild equine ("EN"class) originally distributed in the Gobi Desert of Xinjiang, China and Mongolia [ 1 , 2 ]. It was extinct in its original range due to anthropogenic activities in the 1960s [ 3 , 4 ].…”

“…With only a few remaining in small captive breeding herds in Europe and North America [ 5 , 6 ], the Chinese government started in 1985 a reintroduction operation of the Przewalski’s horse according to the plan of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), aiming to ultimately restore its wild population in China. Then Przewalski’s horses were transferred from the United States, Great Britain and Germany to breeding centers in Xinjiang and Gansu over a period of time [ 2 , 7 ]. Rewilding of them began in 2001 when the first batch of 27 bred Przewalski’s horses were released into the Kalamaili Nature Reserve (KNR) in Xinjiang [ 4 , 8 ].…”

An Update on Status and Conservation of the Przewalski’s Horse (Equus ferus przewalskii): Captive Breeding and Reintroduction Projects

“…Przewalski’s horse ( Equus ferus przewalskii ), also known as Przewalski’s wild horse, the Asian wild horse, Mongolian wild horse, Takhi or Junggar Horses, is classified by the IUCN as Extinct in the Wild (EW) as no Przewalski’s horse has been seen in the wild since 1969, despite efforts to find them in Mongolia or China [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Among the seven extant equid species, the Przewalski’s horse is the only true wild horse in the world [ 4 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ].…”

Comparative Analysis of Microbiome Metagenomics in Reintroduced Wild Horses and Resident Asiatic Wild Asses in the Gobi Desert Steppe

“…A total of 24 Przewalski's horses from Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States were reintroduced in China in 1985 for captive breeding, and 27 individuals from breeding groups were released into Kalamaili Mountain Ungulate Nature Reserve (KNR) in 2001 [11]. The free-ranging Przewalski's horse population in KNR has increased and is estimated to have over 200 individuals [12]. The current population of resident Mongolian wild asses in the same reserve is estimated to be over 3000 individuals [13].…”