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Last wild horse species returns from brink of extinction Zoological Society of London's (ZSL) Institute of Zoology December 20, 2005 An international working group coordinated by ZSL's Institute of Zoology (IoZ) has made the recommendation to reclassify the Przewalski's horses from extinct' to endangered' on the IUCN red list of threatened species. The working group of over 60 mammal specialists, managed by IoZ scientist Jonathan Bailie, was established to assess Mongolian biodiversity and specifically, for the first time, examine the population of the Przewalski's horses since their reintroduction programme began in the 1990's. The move to reduce the Przewalski's category on the IUCN red list highlights the success of recent captive breeding and reintroduction programmes.
'There were concerns that having been bred for 13 generations in captivity the animals would not be able to survive in the wild', said Nick Lindsay, Head of International Zoo Programmes at ZSL, however, there are now 248 free ranging Przewalski's horses in the wild, a factor among others which has resulted in their remarkable status reclassification.' The workshop initiated by ZSL, assessed the success of reintroductions carried out by various organisations over the past 15 years, which included a horse from the successful breeding programme at ZSL's Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, which was reintroduced to Mongolia in 2001. If the recommendation is accepted by IUCN this reclassification will be a milestone for large mammal conservation. This is a modified news release from the Zoological Society of London's (ZSL) Institute of Zoology.
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Przewalski's horse. Image by R. Butler
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