The birth of two foals belonging to one of the rarest equine species on Earth has triggered a wave of excitement and hope among scientists who seek to protect rangelands and grasslands.
Przewalski’s horses are the world’s last truly wild horses and are hard to handle and almost impossible to ride.
On August 22 and 30, mares Tess and Umbra gave birth to one foal each at a remote wildlife sanctuary on Kazakhstan’s steppe. These are believed to be the first foals born after nearly 200 years on these grasslands.
The foals’ births were the result of a decades-long effort to save the Przewalski’s horse from extinction and “rewild” Kazakhstan’s grasslands, where human encroachment had sent biodiversity into a tailspin.
“The community-based protection of these rangelands that led to the birth of this foal is one of the great conservation success stories of the last decade,” says Susan Gardner, the Director of the Ecosystems Division at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “It shows that when we put our minds to it, we can restore ecosystems and give species a second chance.”
According to a statement by the United Nations Environment Programme, Przewalski’s horses once roamed the plains of Central Asia in large numbers, their short, stocky bodies ideal for retaining heat during the region’s brutal winters.
But by the mid-1900s, hunting, habitat loss from farming and competition from livestock had decimated herds. The last of the horses was spotted in the wild in 1969, roaming the Gobi Desert alone.
But the animals survived in European zoos, where an elaborate breeding programme helped keep their genetic pool diverse – and intact.
That, conservationists say, is important. Przewalski’s horses occupy a unique branch of the equine family tree. They have two more chromosomes than other horses, and unlike their free-roaming counterparts in Australia and the United States of America, they have never been domesticated. (So-called “wild” horses like mustangs are the feral offspring of domesticated horses.)
In 2005, the Kazakh government launched an effort to restore 75,000 square kilometres of steppe and semi-desert that had been damaged by overgrazing, unsustainable farming practices and climate change. Known as the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative, the longstanding partnership has been named a UN World Restoration Flagship, an award that honours ground-breaking efforts to revive natural spaces.
“Well-managed pastoralism can help keep these landscapes healthy, for both wildlife and livelihoods,” said UNEP’s Gardner.
Conservationists focused first on bolstering populations of endangered saiga antelope and the kulan, a type of wild ass. ‘’
Since 2024, 22 Przewalski’s horses have been airlifted from European zoos to the Alibi Reintroduction Centre, 12 hours from Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana.
There, in a series of fenced enclosures, the animals are taught how to live in the wild, with conservationists showing them how to dig in the snow to find food, among other things.
The return of the horses is an important moment in the restoration of Kazakhstan’s steppe. Large herbivores like horses are essential for healthy grasslands. Their grazing keeps plant growth in check, preventing wildfires. As herds move across the terrain, horses’ hooves gently loosen topsoil, while their manure returns essential organic nutrients back to the earth.
Przewalski’s horses live in small groups of five to 10 animals known as a harem. Over the coming weeks, conservationists will monitor how the other harem members react to the foals. They’ll also be tracking whether Tessa and Umbra show their offspring how to drink water, taste herbs for edibility and sound the alarm for predators.
For now, both foals — who have the same father, a stallion named Zorro — will remain with their harems in the confines of a 56-hectare enclosure. The big test will come next year, when a new stallion is introduced to the harems. (Zorro died in 2025.) In the wild, stallions have been known to harass or even kill the offspring of other males.
If the transition goes well, the harems should be released into the wild at the beginning of May. From there, they will need to forage and fend for themselves. The foals will likely stay in their harems until they’re three or four years old, then head out to join a bachelor group. After that, they may seek out their own harem or return to their original harem, either challenging the dominant stallion for breeding rights or living a life of celibacy underneath him.
Conservation officials want to have 40 horses in Kazakhstan by 2029. Their end goal is to establish a stable, free-roaming population that doesn’t need human intervention.
