Four endangered Przewalski”s horses were sent to Mongolia from west
China”s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on Monday, marking the first time for
China to send the horses to another country since reintroducing the species 17
years ago, according to Cao Jie, director of the Xinjiang Wild Horse
Propagation Center.

China and Mongolia
are the only two countries that have successively released Przewalski”s horses
into the wild.

Zoologists from both countries said the exchange is just the first of many that
will help to optimize the species, maintain genetic diversity and further raise
reproduction and survival rates.

Przewalski”s horses historically live on grasslands that are now part of
China”s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Mongolia. The species faced
extinction after rampant hunting that began in the early 19th century.

Wild Przewalski”s horses went extinct in the mid-20th century. Currently, there
are fewer than 1,500 domestically bred Prezewalski”s horses in the world.

China started a breeding program for the species in 1985, relying on
Przewalski”s horses brought back to the WHPC from Britain, Germany and the
United States to breed the species.

The center started to release its horses into a semi-wild environment in 2001.
Fifty-seven of the 74 horses bred by the center survived, amounting to a
survival rate of more than 70 percent. The center now has 267 Przewalski”s
horses.

The horses sent to Mongolia underwent a 30-day quarantine to prepare them for
their arrival at the Great Gobi B National Park, where they will join 60 other
horses.

“The horses are between three and five years old, the best age for
breeding. They are distantly related to the horses at Great Gobi B National
Park,” Cao said.

“We are excited to receive horses from China,” said Dr. Enkhsaikhan
Namtar, office manager of the International Takhi Group, an organization
dedicated to saving wild Mongolian horses.

He said the horses will first be kept in captivity and gradually released into
the wild after becoming acclimated to their new environment.

Both China and Mongolia plan to exchange horses with more countries in the near
future, including Germany, Britain and the United States, according to experts
in the field.

Source: http://www.newkerala.com