Endangered Przewalski’s horses were released into the steppes of Central Asia in an operation organized by the Prague Zoo.
13:34•Updated 13:48
A group of endangered wild horses has been reintroduced into the wild in Kazakhstan in June.
Seven Przewalski horses raised in zoos were flown from Europe to the plains of Central Asia in the Prague Zoo operation.
The species has not been found in the wild in Kazakhstan for hundreds of years.
News about the project this week British broadcasting company BBC.
One stallion and six mares were moved to the area. During the next five years, a total of 40 horses are to be flown to Kazakhstan, the Prague Zoo says.
This is not the first time that Przewalski horses have been returned to the wild. In the last decade, a total of 34 horses were released into Mongolia, which has now grown to more than 850 individuals.
Mating started
Before the trip, the horses were collected from all over Europe and placed in a zoo in Berlin for several months.
This was done so that the horses could get to know each other before the joint flight and the new herd life in the wild.
In June, the horses were loaded into military planes in two groups. The planes covered a distance of more than 6,000 kilometers from Berlin to Kazakhstan, which included stopovers in Turkey and Azerbaijan.
The return of Przewalski’s horses to the wild has gone well. Spokesperson for the Prague Zoo Filip Masek told the BBC that after the initial hesitation, the horses have started to move further and further across the terrain.
This week, researchers reported that some of the reintroduced horses have started mating, which is considered a very good sign.
The horses spend the first year in an enclosure of about 60 hectares, the purpose of which is to accustom them to life in nature.