Przewalski Horses from Berlin Have Safely Arrived in the Steppe

A milestone has been reached: Four Przewalski horses from Berlin have successfully completed their journey of over 4,000 km and have safely arrived in the Altyn Dala steppe in central Kazakhstan. After arriving at the airport, the crates were loaded onto trucks to cover the final leg of the journey through the steppe to the Alibi Reintroduction Center. The four animals were brought there as part of the joint project "Return Of The Wild Horses" to form the first herd in the region together with three wild horses from Prague.

"We are relieved and quite proud to witness this special moment. A large team contributed to making it possible for us to stand here in the steppe with our Berlin horses," says Christian Kern, Zoological Director of Zoo and Tierpark Berlin. "Such an endeavor cannot be accomplished by a single institution; it requires a collective effort where everyone contributes their knowledge, experience, and skills," he adds. The Przewalski horses from Berlin will soon meet the three wild horses from Prague and form a herd over the coming weeks. Tessa, born in Berlin, has established herself as the lead mare in the Berlin group before departure, and it is likely that she will maintain this position in the larger herd. After an acclimatization period and the first winter, the gates of the reintroduction center will open for them. Vera Voronova, Executive Director of the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan, reported: "The ACBK team has worked hard since last year to ensure that our Alibi Reintroduction Center is ready for the arrival of the horses. We have overcome many challenges, including a recent flood. I am pleased to say that Alibi is a fantastic place for these horses to acclimate to Kazakhstan."

The Altyn Dala steppe spans an area of 750,000 km² across Kazakhstan, from the border with Uzbekistan in the south to Russia in the north. The combination of grasslands, semi-deserts, and wetlands hosts a wide variety of wildlife, including steppe eagles and wolves. More than 10 million migratory birds pass through these wetlands, which are part of the UNESCO World Heritage. Until about 200 years ago, the Przewalski horse was one of the most significant steppe inhabitants.

"This is an extremely important moment for the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative," says Stephanie Ward of the Frankfurt Zoological Society, who is accompanying the project as the international coordinator of the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative. "We have long dreamed of the day when Przewalski horses would join the saiga antelope and the kulan in the vast steppe wilderness of central Kazakhstan. Thanks to a unique partnership of zoos, non-governmental organizations, and governments, we are now finally witnessing this ecologically important species return to its historical range," Ward announced on the occasion of the wild horses' arrival. "Our vision is to restore fully functioning steppe ecosystems in Kazakhstan," she adds.

Conservationists hope that the reintroduction will also have a positive impact on the local plant and animal life. As large grazers, wild horses shape their habitat and create open spaces, with positive effects on insects, small mammals, and ground-nesting birds. The Przewalski horses will also make the grass steppe more resilient to fires.