On the ground in Latvia

Lake Pape wild horses. In 1999, 18 wild horses - also known as tarpan - were introduced in the Lake Pape area. They are currently 45. Wild horses graze the grasslands and restore the areas natural processes. They also attract many tourists. Lake Pape, Latvia.

Rich mosaic of grasslands, forests, dunes, and bogs

Feature story:

Return of the Tarpan

In a small corner of Latvia, a WWF project is working to make a unique landscape look how it did in the Middle Age. Lake Pape is surrounded by a rich mosaic of grasslands, forests, dunes, and bogs which attract large amounts of birds and many other animals.

However, the meadows - which used to be mowed - are now left abandoned and being slowly overgrown by trees, shrubs, and reeds. As a result, the area is losing its open landscape's biological diversity.

Wild horses and other large herbivores are being reintroduced by WWF to graze the grasslands and restore the natural processes to exactly how it was centuries ago.