Two Zoo-Bred Przewalski's Horses Shipped from UK to Kazakhstan for Wild Release

The Bbc reported that two female Przewalski's horses named Shara and Togs were transported 3,000 miles from Marwell Zoo near Winchester, Hampshire, to Kazakhstan. The horses, born and raised at the zoo, were flown via Berlin before completing the trip by lorry in crates and released into one of the species' native ranges by conservation workers.

The move is part of efforts to reintroduce the species to parts of its former range.

Przewalski's horses were once found across central Asia but were last seen in the wild in the 1960s. The population fell to roughly a dozen breeding individuals in captivity before recovery programs began. The International Union for Conservation of Nature assessed the species as endangered with 178 mature individuals in 2014.

Ian Goodwin, Marwell Zoo's animal operations manager, stated that the zoo has worked with the horses for more than 50 years since they arrived as one of its first species when it opened in 1972. "We are proud to have played our part in bringing these incredibly special horses back to the wild," Goodwin said.