WildFact
›
Information Section
›
Terrestrial Wild Animals
›
Herbivores Animals
Wild and Feral Horses: Studies, Pictorial and Information
Wild and Feral Horses: Studies, Pictorial and Information
|
Wild and Feral Horses: Studies, Pictorial and Information
|
I'm starting this thread to compile and discuss information and dynamics as it pertains specifically to wild and feral horses around the globe. This includes the Przewalski horse, as well as common feral populations such as mustangs, brumbies, cimarrones, baguales, among others.
I'm going to start by analyzing the claims made by a conservational group on the real impact that feral horses have in Canada, according to them and a 2015 report:
"Wild horses have been a part of the Canadian west for hundreds of years. There are currently wild horses living in the Chilcotin region of British Columbia and parts of Saskatchewan, including a population of protected wild horses in the Bronson Forest. There are also approximately 900 wild horses in Alberta spread out over thousands of square kilometres of terrain in the Rocky mountain foothills. In the 1990s, a population of approximately 1200 wild horses also lived on Canadian Forces Base Suffield near Medicine Hat. Unfortunately, despite a concerted effort by Zoocheck, Animal Alliance of Canada, Albertan’s for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Grasslands Naturalists, the Department of National Defense (DND) removed the horses. Despite promises to the contrary, most of the horses were sent to slaughter. A population of wild horses also exists on Sable Island, a small sand island approximately 112 miles off the coast of Nova Scotia. The Sable Island horses are the most famous of Canada’s wild horses and have been on the island for hundreds of years. Despite the fact that Alberta’s wild horse numbers are very low and spread out over an enormous range of largely fragmented and disturbed habitat, private interests and the Alberta government have long claimed that the horses are causing irreparable damage to natural ecosystems. No compelling scientific evidence has ever been produced to substantiate their damage claims. In fact, horses should be characterized as native wildlife and protected. Not only did horses emerge in North America and co-evolve with the habitats they currently exist in, they can serve a range of beneficial ecological functions. Additionally, modern horses are genetically equivalent to the horses that existed in Alberta just a few thousand years ago, a blink of an eye in evolutionary time. When determining whether a species is native or not, typically several criteria are used. When these are applied to Alberta’s wild horses, there is no question that they should be considered wild and a part of Canada’s natural wildlife heritage." Source: https://www.zoocheck.com/wild-horses/ Full report in PDF: https://www.zoocheck.com/wp-content/uplo...b-site.pdf The above article makes claims that contradict the long-held belief that populations of free-roaming horses are more damaging than they are positive to the environment. Personally, I believe this to be true, but only in the areas where equids were present during the Pleistocene and have gone extinct ever since, most noticeably the Americas and Europe. Most of the claims I have seen being made to exterminate free-roaming horses from areas in which their relatives lived not too long ago are based on unsubstantiated fear-mongering, probably driven by the cattle industry who sees them as competitors to the resources in their lands and want them gone. In North America, most of the large herds of herbivores that lived before the European settlement numbered in the millions, much larger quantities than we find today in terms of bison, elk, pronghorn, and deer. They thrived because they lacked the large megafauna carnivores that controlled their populations in the past, and yet the ecosystem itself was flourishing. Arguments to cull current numbers of ungulates in North America over fears that they will consume all of the natural resources simply do not hold weight. Horses have evolved in that same area, the environment itself is built for animals like them, and if we were to allow the natural predators that remain extant in the areas where horses are found (most noticeably wolves and cougars, who have been proven to successfully reduce the growth rate of certain herds), the argument that they cannot be managed falls apart. I do believe, however, that the issue becomes more complicated in areas where equids have never existed such as Australia and NZ, from an ethical and environmental point of view. Ethical because the total removal of hundreds of thousands of horses in those areas is hard to rationalize, but environmental because those habitats are not suited for animals like horses to roam free in, especially when their presence is harmful to the native species. In this sense, it seems more reasonable to support campaigns to aim to reduce horse populations to the point of total removal, which may include shootings, but once again, in my opinion, the dynamics that we see in Australia or NZ are completely different from those in North America, and having a better understanding of them can provide us with better inside into how to deal with free-roaming populations. If anyone has any thoughts on this, I'd love to hear them. A wild idea? Should horses be returned to their historic rangelands?
 *This image is copyright of its original author Equus ferus in a range of habitats. Feral E. ferus inhabit areas worldwide with a wide range of habitats and climates, including Oostvaardersplassen, the Netherlands (A) (Credit: Eva Maria Kintzel and I Van Stokkum); tropical wet and dry seasons in Los Llanos, Venezuela (B) (Credit: Victor Ros Pueo); the Mongolian steppe in Hustai National Park, Mongolia © (Credit: Usukhjargal Dorj, Hustai National Park); the deserts of central Australia, western North America and Namibia (D; G; L) (Credit: Pernille J. Naundrup; Bureau of Land Management, USA; Telane Greyling); logged forests and snow covered winters in Alberta, Canada (E-F) (Credit: Bob Henderson); moorlands in Dartmoor, England (H) (Credit: Mark Robinson); feeding in the sand dunes and saltmarshes at Assateague Island, Maryland and Virginia, USA (I-J) (Credit: National Park Services, USA; Fritz Geller-Grimm, CC BY-SA 2.5); and in the mountains of Galicia, Spain (K) (Credit: Victor Ros Pueo).
Wild horses once ranged over vast swathes of the planet. Is there any sense in returning them to their former rangelands? Two researchers examined the question. Danish researchers have identified 1.5 million hectares across Europe that would be suitable for reintroducing wild horses to their former habitat, amid growing concern over declines in megafauna around the globe. Large animals, or megafauna, have been decimated worldwide during the last million or so years, the scientists from Aarhus University said. Many of these lost animals were keystone species, Pernille Johansen Naundrup and Jens-Christian Svenning reported in the peer-reviewed open-access journal, PLOS ONE. It was increasingly clear that humans had played a key role in these losses, and human-driven megafauna losses were ongoing, they wrote. “Their loss likely has had large effects on ecosystems,” they said, which had sparked a growing focus on how large animals could be restored in rewilding projects. Rewilding emphasises species reintroductions to restore ecological function.  *This image is copyright of its original author Current distribution of wild-living horses.
The dots indicate the 186 populations of recent wild-living E. ferus identified in this study.
“The horse (Equus ferus) is highly relevant in this context as it was once extremely widespread and, despite severe range contraction, survives in the form of domestic, feral, and originally wild horses,” they said. “Further, it is a functionally important species, notably due to its ability to graze coarse, abrasive grasses.” The pair, from the university’s Department of Bioscience, used species distribution modelling to link locations of wild-living E. ferus populations to climate to estimate climatically suitable areas for the animals. These models were combined with habitat information and past and present distributions of equids to identify areas suitable for their reintroduction. Mean temperature in the coldest quarter, precipitation in the coldest quarter, and precipitation in the driest quarter emerged as the best climatic predictors, they said. “The distribution models estimated the climate to be suitable in large parts of the Americas, Eurasia, Africa, and Australia and, combined with habitat mapping, revealed large areas to be suitable for rewilding with horses within its former range, including up to 1.5 million hectares within five major rewilding areas in Europe.”  *This image is copyright of its original author Potential habitat (suitable land cover) for feral horses.
The pair said the widespread occurrence of suitable climates and habitats within the former range of E. ferus, together with its important functions, made it a key candidate for rewilding in large parts of the world. They acknowledged that such a plan would require important issues to be addressed. “Successful re-establishment of wild-living horse populations will require handling the complexity of human–horse relations, for example, potential conflicts with ranchers and other agriculturalists or with other conservation aims, perception as a non-native invasive species in some regions, and coverage by legislation for domestic animals.” Naundrup and Svenning noted that only one originally wild subspecies, the Przewalski’s horse, had survived, although much genetic diversity had been preserved in the domesticated forms of the horse. Wild horses were extremely widespread and common during the Middle and Late Pleistocene, with a distribution that covered most of Eurasia and northern Africa, as well as North and South America, they said. It evolved in North America 1.1 to 1.2 million years and spread via the Beringia land bridge and the Isthmus of Panama to Eurasia and South America some 800,000 to 900,000 years ago, and to Africa even later still, in the Late Pleistocene. “Further, E. ferus was just the latest of a more or less long line of grazing equids in these regions,” they said. “In the Americas, E. ferus went extinct during the latest Pleistocene or early Holocene, whereas it remained widespread in the wild in Eurasia until the late Holocene.” The last originally wild populations disappeared from Eastern Europe and the southern parts of Russia during the last few hundred years, whereas the Przewalski’s horse survived until 1969 in the wild in Central Asia. It has since been reintroduced to its native habitat through an international breeding effort. Human activity was clearly the cause of the extinction of wild E. ferus in Eurasia, they said, notably through hunting and domestication. “The cause of extinction in the Americas is less clear, but the evidence there also points to humans rather than climate being the cause, notably when examined in the context of broader megafauna extinctions.” They said that, despite the historical range collapse, wild-living horses were found today in many parts of the world, with feral populations found on all continents except Antarctica. They said while there were large areas of suitable habitat for E. ferus in sub-Saharan Africa, Australia and New Zealand, the species was not native to any of these areas. They noted that wild horse populations existed in Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand, they noted, did not naturally harbour land-going mammalian herbivores. “Introduced mammalian herbivores are generally perceived to be highly damaging there.” Australia’s native mammals were largely marsupials, and feral horses were generally considered to be pests, with big effects on native habitats and agriculture. “North America likewise harbours large feral populations, and feral horses are there perceived either as an iconic native or semi-native species or as a non-indigenous invasive species.” The researchers said large herbivores could have profound effects on their habitats. “Due to the widespread former distribution of E. ferus and earlier grazing equids, grassland biota in much of the world must have evolved and/or persisted under the influence of grazing by horses for millions of years,” they said. Horses, they noted, were selective grazers, preferring grasses, sedges and herbs, including coarse, highly abrasive grasses. The researchers said the question of whether reintroduction was desirable depended on several factors, including the level of competition between the reintroduced species and native species with similar ecologies. Across the former range of E. ferus, there was little reason to suspect general negative effects on other native species as the vast majority would have coexisted with the species for up to a million years, and with other grazing equids for even longer, they wrote. Naundrup and Svenning said the widespread occurrence of suitable climates and habitats within the very large former range of E. ferus, together with its important functions as a grazer, made wild-living horses a key candidate for rewilding in large parts of the world. However, it was less clear how much they had previously been limited by predation, and if they may sometimes increase rapidly in numbers in the absence of predators, greatly impacting on vegetation and, in some cases, harming biodiversity. “There are as yet no definite answers to this issue,” they said. “Clearly, more research is needed to better understand the potential role of top-down regulation in the case of wild-living horses. In some real-world cases, it may be feasible to also reintroduce relevant predators.” They acknowledged, too that there may also be conflicts with ranchers and other agriculturalists as wild-living horses and domestic livestock may compete for forage, or there may be a risk of disease transmission between species. “Public views on feral horses range from a pest species to an iconic wild animal that deserves protection, which may render management more difficult. “Notably, human control of feral horse populations is often controversial as the public may perceive management actions such as culling of excess individuals to be animal cruelty.” They concluded that large areas of the world could potentially harbour feral horse populations, even when restricting their rangelands to less than 100 square kilometres. Current feral populations had retained all or most of the species’ former wide ecological adaptability, they said. “Hence, E. ferus is an obvious species to use in rewilding in much of the world due to its former very wide range, its wide extant ecological tolerance, its particular role as a grazer and our extensive knowledge of its ecology, behaviour and management.” Directly from the paper: Zoogeographic perspectives on the potential for rewilding with wild-living E. ferus: Whether a reintroduction is desirable depends on several factors, including little competition between the reintroduced species and native species with similar ecologies. In the case of rewilding with E. ferus, it is therefore pertinent to consider the former native distribution of E. ferus, the present and recent past distribution of other equid species and the overall global distribution of equids in general. Within the former Pleistocene range of E. ferus, there is little reason to suspect general negative effects on other native species as the vast majority will have coexisted with E. ferus for 105-106 years in the past and with other grazing equids for even longer. Concerning other equids, E. ferus previously coexisted with a number of extinct and extant equids (Fig 6), notably stilt-legged horse (E. semiplicatus and allied taxa) in North America, Hippidion spp. in South America, and European wild ass (E. hydruntinus), as well as extant Asiatic wild asses (E. hemionus and E. kiang) in Asia and African wild ass (E. africanus) in northern Africa [139]. Feral E. ferus currently share habitat with feral asses (E. africanus) in Western North America and Australia. The two species are quite different in ecology and behaviour and do not generally compete with one another. Both species are found in open habitats, but E. africanus is better adapted to hot arid climates. Equus ferus and E. africanus also differ in behaviour, with E. ferus forming stable bands and not maintaining territories, whereas E. africanus is territorial and does not form stable bands. These behavioural traits in E. africanus are thought to be an adaption to low availability and quality of forage in arid environments. Similarly, E. f. przewalskii occurs within the known distribution of E. hemionus in Mongolia and northern China. Equus hemionus is a mixed-feeder and is able to live on woody plants but feeds on grasses when available. Its morphology and behaviour is, similar to that of E. africanus, adapted to arid environments. Equus hydruntinus is similar in morphology to E. hemionus and, hence, was most likely also similar in ecology and behaviour. It is thus likely that E. ferus will be able to coexist with these species of Equus currently living within the native range of E. ferus, and rewilding with E. ferus in these regions should hence not be problematic from this perspective. Therefore, there are no zoogeographic reasons against rewilding with E. ferus in the Americas, Eurasia and northern Africa. There are large areas of suitable habitat for E. ferus in sub-Saharan Africa, Australia and New Zealand. However, these areas are less obviously relevant for rewilding with this species. E. ferus is not native to any of the areas. The lack of E. ferus as a native species in sub-Saharan Africa is most likely due to the presence of zebras (E. quagga, E. zebra and E. grevyi), which are very similar to E. ferus in ecology and social behaviour, thereby likely excluding E. ferus from this region. Their striped skin confers advantages in regions with tsetse flies, as the horizontal stripes might prevent attraction of tsetse flies, thereby avoiding infection by trypanosomiasis, which is transferred by the tsetse fly. Hence, rewilding with E. ferus is not generally relevant or desirable in the zebra-occupied parts of sub-Saharan Africa, although negative effects on non-equid species are unlikely given the long equid history in the region. The native mammal fauna of Australia is very different from other continents; notably, all larger native terrestrial mammals are marsupials, and the region has never been occupied by equids or species similar to equids. Here, feral E. ferus are usually considered pests with large impacts on agriculture and native habitats. The effects on the native fauna and vegetation are less clear, however, as both positive and negative effects on native wildlife and flora have been reported. The situation is similar in New Zealand but even more extreme as the region did not naturally harbour terrestrial mammalian herbivores. Introduced mammalian herbivores are generally perceived to be highly damaging there [The Department of Conservation, New Zealand], and feral E. ferus have threatened vulnerable native plant species. From: https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2015/07/16/w...0the%20186 Original paper: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0132359
"A band of native Galician ponies rests atop a hillock in the area surrounding Sabucedo (Galicia).
Did you know that after Australia and the United States, Galicia in Spain, has the 3rd largest free-roaming population of horses in the world?"  *This image is copyright of its original author By Victor Ros
"Multi-stallion band of feral Venezuelan creole horses resting during the midday heat. (Los Llanos, Venezuela)
Although the harem type of structure has been understood as the basic structure of horse society, multi-male stallion bands are more common than one is often led to think. Bands consist of 1-26 mares and their offspring, accompanied by one or more stallions. Up to half, the bands in a herd may contain more than one and as many as five stallions (Linklater et al., 1999). The population studied by Berger (1983; 1986) showed that bands found to last over seven months were mainly harem formations (88%) and the rest multi-stallion bands (12%). Miller (1981) found the same general pattern in his study of the Red Desert horses of Wyoming."  *This image is copyright of its original author By Victor Ros Bison, Wild Horses Bring Biodiversity to Ex-Army Base
By Associated Press "Wild horses, bison and other big-hoofed animals once roamed freely in much of Europe. Now they are transforming a former military base outside the Czech capital in an ambitious project to improve biodiversity. Where occupying Soviet troops once held exercises, massive bovines called tauros and other heavy beasts now munch on the invasive plants that took over the base years ago. The animals are turning the former Milovice military base 35 kilometers (22 miles) northeast of Prague into a miniature version of the steppe that once rolled across the European continent. With some species wiped out in the wild, the animals now have the chance to live together again in relative freedom. Conservationists deployed them at Milovice five years ago. Now they hope to enlarge the sanctuary by one third to 360 hectares (890 acres) this year. The animals’ task is to improve biodiversity among local plants by eating invasive ones while saving endangered species, said Dalibor Dostal, the director of European Wildlife, an organization behind the project. “It’s a miraculous change,” Dostal said. “Nobody expected that the whole process would go ahead so fast and the area would change so much in just a few years.” He said the large animals are as key to preserving the ecosystem “as trees are for forests.” David Storch, an environment professor at Prague’s Charles University who was not involved in the project, agreed. He said the project is “absolutely unique” because it shows that nature can be preserved not only by protecting it from human activities but also by actively shaping it with big-hoofed animals. The selection of the animals was based on the experiences of conservationists in various countries. Domestic animals such as sheep were ruled out because they would feed on endangered plants as well. Mechanical cutting of the invasive plants was deemed too costly. While invasive grasses are a delicacy for wild horses, European bison and tauros prefer bushes, creating an ideal partnership. The invasive plants began to grow after Soviet troops, who stayed on after the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of then-Czechoslovakia, finally withdrew from the base in 1991. Former military bases are considered places with great biodiversity, the conservationists said, because soldiers’ activities simulated the impacts of hoofed animals. The Czech project includes tauros that were transferred from the Netherlands, where a crossbreeding program aimed at coming close to the original species, the aurochs, started in 2008. That wild ancestor of today’s cattle became extinct in the 17th century. Wild horses were transported from Britain’s Exmoor National Park, while European bison came from several reserves in Poland. The project now has herds of 27 European bison, 25 tauros and some 70 wild horses. The animals move freely on the pastures on the former military base year-round. With water sources available, they are able to care for themselves, even in winter. The landscape quickly saw signs of transformation. Flowers started to dot the area as early as the second year of the project as the large herbivores reduced the tall, dense invasive grasses. Today, the whole area changes colors over the course of the year, depending on what flowers are in bloom. The most precious is the star gentian, also known as a cross gentian. The blue flower is now flourishing at Milovice more than anywhere else in the country. The former base also has become abundant in other animals and insects. The Adonis blue, a butterfly, has been spotted there for the first time since 1967. “If we give nature a chance, if we give it time and space, it can take care of many things,” said Miloslav Jirku, a biologist with the Czech Academy of Sciences who has been involved in the project from the start. “At the very beginning, I thought that lots of species that used to be here in the 1990s would have to be returned artificially. Today, a number of them are already here without us doing anything about it,” he said. " Original article: https://www.voanews.com/science-health/b...-army-base
The mighty mustangs from Dugway, Utah
 *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author By Michael Stern
Extremely beautiful and rare coloration on these Albertan horses
 *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author By Tammy Beveridge
Hyenas threatening the wild horses of Namibia:
Namibia's last wild horses face a perilous future Michael Cross and Tom Page, CNN • Published 19th June 2020 It's still debated exactly how the Namibian desert became home to a herd of wild horses. One theory is that diamond prospectors brought horses more than a century ago to since-abandoned mining fields. Another theory, says author and historian Manni Goldbeck, is that they arrived with South African soldiers, who in 1915 landed in Luderitz, a town to the south. Later the troops were bombed, Goldbeck says, scattering the horses into the Namib coastal desert, where they remained. In any case, this has been their home for over a century, and what isn't up for debate is that they're desperately imperiled. Their situation has prompted concern from the nearby community of Aus, a small town on the fringes of the Namib-Naukluft National Park to the north and Tsau //Khaeb National Park to the south. The horses are the lifeblood of the economy, drawing tourists who come to see them living amid inhospitable sand dunes and the barren plains of Garub. "We've got about ... 800 local people, and of that 130 are actively involved in tourism," hotel owner Bernd Roemer told CNN last year. "If an attraction like the horses would fall away it will not kill tourism completely, but it will make a strong indent." "Really there (are) no work opportunities in Aus," added resident Tuuli Martin, "the only work opportunities ... are lodges." Biologist Telane Greyling says the wild horse population has declined from 286 in 2012 to just 65 adults. The future of the herd rests on a few precious foals, yet only one, named Zohra, has survived to see its first birthday in the past seven years. Problem predator Historically, the horses have faced multiple battles. In the 1980s, new park boundaries cut off a portion of their roaming area. In the early 1990s, a prolonged drought killed some horses (an event which brought Greyling to Aus). For the past 20 years spotted hyenas have been a concern. "In 2000 they took about two foals, then it was quiet," Greyling recalled. "(In) 2003 they started coming in again and a little more often." During 2012 there were 50 foals born, Greyling said, and by the end of 2012 the hyenas started attacking those foals. "By the end of 2013 they were able to ambush and pull down an adult horse," she added. Hyenas have been responsible for scores of horse deaths, but complicating matters, the problem predator is also in danger. "In a lot of areas, like Namibia, they are vulnerable (to) extinction," said Karl Fester, a hyena researcher at Namibian conservation group N/a'an ku sê Foundation, who estimates hyena numbers in the country have dropped from 2,000-3,000 in 1998 to less than 1,000 in 2019. The two species, one native, one not, have created a conservation conundrum. In early 2019 the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) reported it had killed three hyenas thought to have preyed on foals, after attempts to relocate them had failed. The act proved controversial in the eyes of some conservationists. In the middle of last year, the MET drew up a 2020-2029 management plan for Namib horses, which included supplemental feeding and water, and predator management. Hyenas would not be killed or captured but would be scared off to protect horses. The horses would not be moved, but in times of drought and severe predation they would be fenced off. Drought has been the main concern for 2020's new foals, says Greyling. During the Covid-19 pandemic tourist numbers have dwindled. "The last few weeks (felt) like we have the place to ourselves again," says Christine Swiegers, secretary of the Namibia Wild Horse Foundation. When visitors return, they will hopefully be able to see Zohra and this year's new foals -- six at the time of writing, according to Greyling. Buoying their prospects, the drought which had claimed other horses has now broken, with small tufts of grass growing on the plains. A single good year does not erase long-term problems, however. "Even without predation, it's the seven-year generation gap that is a threat to the future of the population," Greyling explains. "It means that in 2026 there's going to be no mare that's in the age group 7-15 years, which is the main reproductive age of the population." "I hope and I will be delighted if I'm wrong," she adds, "but the future for the horses and the hyenas are fairly uncertain at this point." Source
First Clone of Endangered Przewalski’s Horse Born in Conservation Effort to Save the Species
 *This image is copyright of its original author The first successfully cloned endangered Przewalski’s horse was born on Aug. 6 in a veterinary facility in Texas, San Diego Zoo Global announced on Friday. The horse was cloned from DNA of a male Przewalski’s horse cryopreserved by the zoo in 1980. Przewalski’s horses are “critically endangered” animals that are found in Mongolia, per Smithsonian’s National Zoo. They’re considered the last species of “truly wild horses” and are “distant cousins” of modern day domestic horses, having likely split from a common ancestor around 500,000 years ago, per the Smithsonian. Przewalski’s horses were once extinct in the wild, and while intensive breeding programs helped revive the species and reintroduce them into the grasslands of China and Mongolia, nearly all can be traced back to 12 Przewalski’s horses that were born in the wild, the San Diego Zoo said in its press release. The successful cloning of DNA collected 40 years is meant to introduce key generic diversity into the species that could benefit its survival. The zoo said the cloned Przewalski’s horse will eventually be transferred to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and integrated into a herd of other Przewalski’s horses for breeding. “The work to save endangered species requires collaborative and dedicated partners with aligned goals,” Paul A. Baribault, president of San Diego Zoo Global, said in a statement. “We share in this remarkable achievement because we applied our multidisciplinary approach, working with the best scientific minds and utilizing precious genetic material collected and stored in our wildlife DNA bio bank.” The cloned Przewalski’s horse was named Kurt after Dr. Kurt Benirschke, the creator of the San Diego Zoo Global Frozen Zoo, which has been collecting and preserving genetic material of endangered animals since 1975. San Diego Zoo Global partnered with Revive & Restore—a wildlife conservation group that aims to incorporate biotechnology into conservation efforts—and ViaGen Equine—a company that clones horses and pets—to successfully clone the Przewalski’s horse. “This birth expands the opportunity for genetic rescue of endangered wild species,” said Ryan Phelan, executive director of Revive & Restore, in a statement. “Advanced reproductive technologies, including cloning, can save species by allowing us to restore genetic diversity that would have otherwise been lost to time.” Przewalski’s horses are not the only species Revive & Restore is trying to revive via biotechnology. The group is attempting to revive at least six endangered or extinct species, including the Wooly Mammoth, which went extinct around 4,000 years ago. Other organizations and research facilities are also attempting to revive extinct or endangered species with biotechnology, including the International Islamic University Malaysia, which plans to revive the recently extinct Sumatran rhino. By Madeleine Carlisle Source TIME
Patagonian wild horses (baguales) in the Chilean Antarctica:
 *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author By Austrocedrus
Wild Llanos horses being rereleased into the savannah after a few stallions are taken from the herd to be tamed and used for the working season, El Encanto de Guanapalo reserve, Colombia
 *This image is copyright of its original author By Carlos Arturo 
I posted this on the Pleistocene rewilding thread a while ago
A Geographic Assessment of the Global Scope for Rewilding with Wild-Living Horses (Equus ferus)
Wyoming mustangs
 *This image is copyright of its original author By Ana Q Photography |
| Users browsing this thread: |
| 10 Guest(s) |