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The
Przewalski's
Horse (Equus
ferus przewalskii, Groves 1986)
is the world’s last remaining
wild horse.
No one has so far succeeded in riding one on a regular basis.
Nonetheless,
unlike numerous domestic horses that have returned to the wild
(mustangs, Namibian
horses, etc.) this one now only lives in captivity. The last wild
individuals
were observed in Mongolia in the 1970s.
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© P.
Goeldlin |
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The
Przewalski Horse Association, TAKH, was created in 1990 to help bring
an end to
this paradoxical situation. Its aim is to recreate a Przewalski Horse
population living in the wild. To
this end, in 1993 and 1994 eleven individuals taken from zoos were
installed in
the département of Lozère, in one of the wildest
and most
beautiful regions in
France: the Causse Méjean, a limestone plateau traditionally
used for sheep
rearing. Today they make up the Le Villaret herd.
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Le
Villaret whose
landscapes are as majestic as those of Mongolia ©
J.P. Taris
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initiative should produce individuals capable of surviving in harsh
natural
conditions, i.e. those of Mongolia, the Przewalski Horse’s
country of origin. |
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Release
after the transport of
September 2004
©
J.O. Manent |
In
this country, our attention has been focused on one site since 1996:
the
“Khomiin-Tal”, situated in the west of the country
in the
region of the great
lakes. This area adjoins the Khar Us Nuur National Park. It is here
that we aim
to recreate a viable Przewalski Horse population using individuals from
Villaret. The 22 founders were successfully released there in September
2004 and August 2005. |
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Research
into returning the Przewalski Horse to the wild involves rigorous
monitoring of
the herd. Thus the social structure of the herd, interactions between
individuals, the physical condition of individuals and the numbers of
parasites
in the body are monitored regularly, on both French and Mongolian
population.
All the data collected are entered into a data base, then analysed. The
horses,
however, organise their own "daily lives". Our rearing policy is that
of non-intervention, we thus allow our "protégés"
to
discover their
own instincts for themselves.
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A grooming, one of the
studied behaviour
©
C. Feh |
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Beyond
that, our purpose is to carry out
an integrated conservation development project in Khar Us Nuur National
Park, where
several endangered Species live (Saïga antelope, Dalmatian
pelecan). One of our
main working axis will be to propose alternative herding
patterns
that
will allow local populations and wildlife to cohabitate.
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Wetlands, steppes and
moutain of Khar Us Nuur National Park ©
F.
Joly
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