Challenges Remain for Reintroduction of Przewalski's Horse (Equus ferus przewalskii) in Xinjiang

The Przewalski's horse (Equus ferus przewalskii) is a flagship species for conservation that once inhabited the arid desert steppes of Junggar Basin, China and Mongolia. It is considered the only extant wild horse species, but was extirpated in the wild in the mid 1960s due to rapid development of animal husbandry, excessive reclamation of grassland and exploitation of minerals. After the last recorded sighting of a wild Przewalski's horse occurring in the Dzungarian Gobi of Mongolia in 1969, this species only exists in captive breeding in the western zoos.

The reintroduction of Przewalski's horse was firstly started in Mongolia, Ukraine, China and Kazakhstan. The program in China was initiated in 1985 with the Jimsar Wild Horse Breeding Center situated in Xinjiang and the Gansu Endangered Species Research Center in Gansu province.

Now, the Jimsar Wild Horse Breeding Center has successfully established a self-sustaining captive population with 285 foals survival between 1988 and 2013. In August 2001, small groups (totaling 27 individuals) have been released from the Jimsar Wild Horse Breeding Center into the Kalamaili Nature Reserve in Xinjiang. After then, the total number of Przewalski's horses released into the Kalamaili Nature Reserve increases year by year with 127 individuals in total by December 2013. However, the released Przewalski's horses were driven into a protected enclosure in winter to supply food, reduce competition with domestic horses, and finally increase survival rate. Therefore, the released population in the Kalamaili Nature Reserve can only be considered a semi-wild population.

In the future, the disturbances from human activities on the reintroduction of the Przewalski's horse should be decreased to establish a free-ranging and wild population. These findings can improve the understanding of the reintroduction of Przewalski's horse, thereby, promote the implementation of reintroduction project. This study was published in Biological Conservation in September 2014.

Jimsar Wild Horse Breeding Center (Imaged by XIEG)

Kalamaili Nature Reserve (Imaged by XIEG)