The first step towards returning Przewalski´s horses to Kazakhstan

The Director of Prague Zoo, Miroslav Bobek, signing the Memorandum of Cooperation to Return Przewalski’s Horses to Kazakhstan in the country’s capital Astana. Photo by Tomáš Hulík, Prague Zoo

“Przewalski’s horses used to live in the territory of what is now Kazakhstan in the past, moreover, twenty years ago a first attempt to reintroduce them here was made. Unfortunately, it was not successful. The memorandum signed today opens the path for a new project,” said Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo’s director. The zoo, together with its partners from the EAZA, ITG, universities and other organisations, will ensure both the expertise and the transport of the Przewalski’s horses.

Tomorrow the Prague Zoo team, together with their Kazakh colleagues, will set off on the first inspection of the chosen sites. This research and preparation phase will last for at least two years.

Prague Zoo has successfully returned Przewalski’s horses to Mongolia. There is now a viable population in the west and centre of the country. Efforts to reintroduce the world’s last wild horse to Kazakhstan will now begin anew. Photo by Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo