The Czech military is to
transport four rare horses to Khomiin Tal Reserve in west Mongolia today as
part of long-running efforts by Prague Zoo to help preserve the Przewalski”s
breed. A stallion and three mares of the Asian breed – which became extinct in
the wild 40 years ago – will travel aboard a CASA transport plane.

The transportation project is
being organized to coincide with the zoo”s 80th anniversary celebration. Zookeepers
hope the four horses can help revitalize one of three herds of the wild Asian
breed being re-introduced in Mongolia. The herd at the reserve includes nine
horses sent from France six years ago, as well as five horses born within the
herd.

“This
is the first Czech transport of Przewalski”s horses to Mongolia,” Prague
Zoo Director Miroslav Bobek told reporters, adding the Mongolia project
involved extensive advance preparation in a bid to minimize the risks involved
for the animals.

The
3-year-old stallion Matyas, 4-year-old mare Lima and 5-year-old mares Kordula
and Cassovia were kept at the zoo”s acclimatization center in Dolní Dobřejov,
central Bohemia, ahead of the journey. Before the move, veterinarians will
vaccinate them, adjust their hooves and give them a tranquillizer before they
are driven to Prague-Kbely military airport, where their horse boxes will be
transferred to the plane in the company of a vet and a breeding expert.

After
the 17-hour flight, the horses will need to travel a further 260 km in an off-road
vehicle to get to the reserve, and then spend a period in quarantine. Bobek
stressed that while it was a complicated and dangerous journey, the four young
horses were crucial to the future of the Przewalski”s population in Mongolia,
where they will widen the gene pool and increase the birth rate of the herd.