Return of the Wild horses: Four more mares arrived to Mongolia

07. 07. 2015

After 36 hours of a difficult journey, on Sunday night, the mares Querida, Rabea, Kirá and Paradise run out of their crates into the acclimatization enclosure in the Gobi B Strictly Protected Area. So Prague Zoo in cooperation with the Czech Army has transported so far 19 Przewalski´s Horses in five turns to Mongolia. This year´s transportation was very complicated, in spite of that it was successful.

A photo taken on Monday morning. All four mares are fine. Next to the crates, from the left: Kirá, Querida, Paradise and Rabea. Photo: Prague Zoo

"This year´s Return of the Wild Horses was complicated by extreme heat in Czech Republic and by torrential rains in Mongolia, due to which the land transport was extended by about one hundred kilometres," Director of Prague Zoo and the main initiator of the Return of the Wild Horses project, Miroslav Bobek, stated. "Another complication was a minor injury, Rabea inflicted to our colleague still on the plane. Thus compared to last year the transport of the mares took several hours more."

Prague Zoo has played a significant role in preservation of Przewalski´s Horse, which became extinct in the wild at the end of 1960s, and reintroduction of which has been under way during last 25 years. Prague Zoo is in charge of keeping its studbook and since 2011 it organizes transportations to Mongolia. The horses transported so far already produced 10 offspring. Altogether there are about 500 Przewalski´s Horses living at three different localities in Mongolia. 137 of them live in Gobi B, where the last four "Prague" transportations were heading.

Four mares were transported to Mongolian steppe this year:

Querida, born on 10^th of August 2012 to Hara, the mother, and Len, the stallion (as 218^th foal of Przewalski´s Horse born in Prague Zoo)

Rabea, born on 14^th of September 2009 in Leipzig Zoo

Kirá, born on 6^th of August 2008 in the Hortobágy National Park, Hungary

Paradise, born on 25^th May 2009 in Paris Zoo

This year´s transportation was accompanied by Hynek Kmoníček, Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs at the Office of the President of the Czech Republic, who stated that: "A horse is the soul of Mongolia. By returning the horses to Gobi we are returning a bit of Mongolian soul and we are helping our own soul. Thanks to Prague Zoo and our Army pilots we are leaving here something for the next generations, and this is the best diplomacy."

You can find more information about the history, the effort for reintroduction or the breeding of Przewalski´s Horses in Prague Zoo at: www.zoopraha.cz/prevalaci and www.facebook.com/prevalaci.