Przewalski's horse

Przewalski's horse (Equus przewalskii or E. ferus przewalskii), the Mongolian wild horse, or takhi, is the closest living relative of the domestic horse; the two are the only equids that can cross-breed and produce fertile offspring.

The current (as of 2002) world population of these horses is about 1000, all descended from approximately 15 captured around 1900 and bred in zoos. The wild population in Mongolia died out in the 1960s; captive-bred horses were returned to the wild starting in 1992. The area to which they have been reintroduced became Hustai National Park[?] in 1998.

Przewalski's horses live in social groups consisting of a dominant male, several mares, and their offspring. Each group has a well-defined home range; within the range, the herd travels between three and six miles a day, spending time grazing, drinking, using salt licks, dozing, and taking mud baths. At night, the herd clusters and sleeps for about four hours.

Fillies leave their natal groups around age 2, and look for a herd to join, after which they will begin to breed. Colts are driven out when they are about three years old, and spend a year or two in small bachelor herds[?], practicing fighting. At around age 5, a stallion will either try to take over an existing herd; steal one or more mares from another stallion's harem; or gather unattached fillies.

General Nikolaï Mikhaïlovitch Prjevalski[?] (1839-1888) was a Russian explorer and naturalist.