“This concerns a step towards a permanent expansion of the herd. When both the mares that have been removed become pregnant, we will bring them back, possibly even with another mare. The long-term goal is to have six to seven adult horses at Dívčí Hrady - and maybe even two foals with time. It’s complicated, but at the same time it’s the best way to have adequate numbers of Przewalski’s here,” explained Barbora Dobiášová, the curator for ungulates.

The plan is to return the four-year-old Khamiina and five-year-old Lana once the stallion has covered them. This is likely to happen at the end of June, after they have been with him over the rutting season. They were replaced in the paddock at Dívčí Hrady by the gelding Nepomuk, who is nearly 13 years old, and Vereda, a mare who is nearly five years old. They complement the existing herd members, three-year-old Xicara and four-year-old Gruhne. The mares were chosen because they could ensure the group had the greatest genetic diversity for future reproduction.

“We decided to go for a herd with a castrated stallion so that all the mares would not be in foal synchronously, which means we would have enough time to correctly place the foals that were born. Nepomuk has already been tested in the group of mares in Dolní Dobřejov, he looks after the mares and is suitably dominant, so he meets the role of a stallion, which is necessary in the herd,” explained Dobiášová.

The new inhabitants will stay here permanently. Together with the planned foals they will expand the herd and help to graze the nearly 20-hectare paddock. Natural grazing on the grassland helps bring back the native plant and animal communities.

Dívčí Hrady’s current inhabitants

Nepomuk is a gelding who fills the role of a stallion at Dívčí Hrady. He was born in May 2009 in Slatiňany. A year later he went to Dolní Dobřejov. Nepomuk was recently released at Dívčí Hrady in the spring.

Vereda was born in Prague in May 2017. Her sire is the stallion Len, who is the offspring of the mare Orlica III - the last Przewalski’s horse to be caught in the wild. Vereda was released at Dívčí Hrady together with Nepomuk.

Gruhne comes from the Reserve d’Animaux Sauvage in Belgium, where she was born in July 2017. Two years later she travelled to Prague Zoo’s breeding station in Dolní Dobřejov. Gruhne was released last April together with Xicara, Lana and Khamiina.

Xicara was born in Prague Zoo in July 2018. She was released at Dívčí Hrady last year in April.