From the zoo to the liberation in the steppe: the return of wild horses to Kazakhstan after over 200 years

They lived in a zoo, an unnatural and impossible place to compare to the habitat of any animal, but Now they have returned to their real home and run free with no more limitations. A herd of Przewalski horses, Equus Przewalskiiwas successfully reintroduced in Kazakhstan, where These splendid wild had been missing for over 2 centuries.

These are seven specimens from the Prague zoo e Tierpark Berlinwho have joined the international project Return of the Wild Horse. The initiative sees the collaboration of several partners including the Zoologischen Gesellschaft Frankfurt (ZGF), Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK) and the Ministry of the Kazakhstan environment.

The seven horses of Przewalski had arrived in Kazakhstan in spring 2024 and had been transferred to a reintroduction center. Here they spent several months under veterinary supervision to acclimatize. They faced the winter at temperatures of -30 ° C and all the challenges that nature has until the actual release in naturewhich took place in recent days. Przewalski horses have officially returned to Kazakhstan, more free than ever.

The gates of the reintroduction center finally opened and the animals were able to explore the Altyn-Dala steppe, which extends over a surface of more than 7,000 km². The experts who took care of them in all this time was moved to observe them.

The moment was really touching throughout the team “said Christian Kern, zoological director of the Berlin Zoo and Tierpark, who personally followed the transfer of animals.

A real hope for the restoration of the population of Przewalski horses

The incident marks one historical result for the conservation of the species and for the whole region. Przewalski’s group of horses is the first to move independently in the Altyn-Dala steppe, where they resided a time before the disappearance.

These animals are considered the last real wild horses of the planet. Their return is a warning to combine the forces to continue saving the species and contribute to the reconstruction of its ecosystem. The project aims to reintroduce in nature at least 40 horses of Przewalski from Central Europe to create a base for a local population in Kazakhstan.

Other horses have recently reached their land and have been placed in the enclosures of the reintroduction center. They will join the group as soon as the conditions allow it, it’s just a matter of time.

Sources: Tierpark Berlin – Zoo Praha