Takhi

Takhi (Przewalski) horse

Takhi or Przewalskii horse is one of the seven equide species in the world. From 1930s Takhi became threatened in Mongolia (Dovchin, 1969), and currently are listed as very rare and highly endangered in the Mongolian Red Book ( Shiirevdamba et all, 1997). It is extinct in the wild.

In 1991, upon the Government of Mongolia decision to coordinate reintroduction of Przewalskii horse in the country, a National Takhi Commission was established. At present, two sub-populations have been reintroduced in different regions of Mongolia. The third one will be reintroduced in Khomiin tal where reintroduction project has been implemented since 1998 with support from WWF.

From the conservation genetics point of view, it is vital to keep the inbreeding coefficient minimal when reintroducing small populations. In order to do so, long term planning foresees that young horses will be exchanged between the different reintroduction projects in Mongolia.