Przewalski's horse (pronounced /ʃɨˈvælski/ shə-VAL-skee or /zɨˈvɑːlski/ zə-VAHL-skee; Polish: ; Equus ferus przewalskii, Mongolian: Тахь, Takhi) or Dzungarian horse, is a rare and endangered subspecies of wild horse (Equus ferus) native to the steppes of central Asia, specifically Mongolia. At one time extinct in the wild (in Mongolia, the last wild Przewalski's horses had been seen in 1966), it has been reintroduced to its native habitat in Mongolia at the Khustain Nuruu National Park, Takhin Tal Nature Reserve, and Khomiin Tal. The taxonomic position is still debated, and some taxonomists treat Przewalski's horse as a species, Equus przewalskii.
Common names for this equine include Asian wild horse, Przewalski's Wild Horse,Mongolian wild horse, and Tahki. Historical but obsolete names include true tarpan and Mongolian tarpan. The horse is named after the Russian geographer and explorer Nikolai Przhevalsky.
Most "wild" horses today, such as the American Mustang or the Australian Brumby, are actually feral horses descended from domesticated animals that escaped and adapted to life in the wild. In contrast, Przewalski's horse has never been successfully domesticated and remains a truly wild animal today. Przewalski's horse is one of three known subspecies of Equus ferus, the others being the domesticated horse, Equus caballus and the extinct tarpan (Equus ferus ferus). The Przewalski's horse is considered the only remaining truly wild "horse" in the world and may be the closest living wild relative of the domesticated horse. There are still a number of other wild equines, including three species of zebra and various subspecies of the African wild ass, onager (including the Mongolian wild ass) and kiang.
Read more about Przewalski's Horse: Taxonomy, Population, Appearance, Behavior, History, Preservation Efforts
Famous quotes containing the word horse:
“We read that the traveller asked the boy if the swamp before him had a hard bottom. The boy replied that it had. But presently the traveller’s horse sank in up to the girths, and he observed to the boy, “I thought you said that this bog had a hard bottom.” “So it has,” answered the latter, “but you have not got half way to it yet.” So it is with the bogs and quicksands of society; but he is an old boy that knows it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)