Prague Zoo Launches New Transport of Wild Horses to Kazakhstan

Prague Zoo is organising the next transport of Przewalski’s horses to Kazakhstan together with European partners. The aim of the project is to permanently reintroduce the once-extinct wild horse species to the steppe.

Prague Zoo is continuing its international conservation project for the return of Przewalski’s horses this year. Another transport to Kazakhstan is scheduled to begin next week. Almost exactly 15 years after the first Prague-led transport to Mongolia, eight animals are now set to be transferred to the so-called “Golden Steppe” in central Kazakhstan.

According to the zoo, four stallions and four mares will be transported for the first time. The animals will travel aboard a CASA transport aircraft operated by the Czech Army. The military aircraft is scheduled to transport four horses from Prague to Kazakhstan on Sunday, 31 May, before returning to Berlin, where additional animals from Tierpark Berlin will be taken on board.

Foto: Petr Hamerník | Zoo Praha

“The return of the wild horses is the flagship of the conservation projects at Prague Zoo,” said zoo director Lenka Poliaková. The project, which was initiated 15 years ago by her predecessor, would continue until a permanently viable population had been established in the steppes of central Kazakhstan.

The reintroduction of Przewalski’s horses to Kazakhstan began in 2024. As part of two previous transports, 14 animals had already been transferred to the Golden Steppe. The wild horses, originally native to the region, disappeared there more than 200 years ago as a result of human activity.

According to the zoo, maintaining the greatest possible genetic diversity is crucial for the project’s long-term success. For that reason, the animals originate from several different European breeding programmes.

Prague Zoo manages both the international studbook for Przewalski’s horses and the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP). The institution already played a key role in saving the species after the Second World War. Between 2011 and 2019, Prague Zoo organised a total of nine transports from Europe to western Mongolia.

Foto: Zoo Praha

Alongside the current transports to Kazakhstan, Prague Zoo is now also working on another reintroduction project in eastern Mongolia, in the so-called “Valley of the Monasteries”.

International cooperation for the return of wild horses to Kazakhstan

Among the key partners in this year’s project is Tierpark Berlin. The Berlin institution has been involved in breeding and conservation programmes for endangered species for many years and is providing several horses from its own population for the project. The zoo is also coordinating the transfer of additional animals from other European zoos.

Another participant is the Frankfurt Zoological Society, which supports conservation projects in 18 countries worldwide. In Kazakhstan, the organisation is involved in the protection of the saiga antelope and the kulan.

The Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan is also a partner in the project. The Kazakh conservation organisation is pursuing the long-term goal of restoring the country’s original steppe ecosystems. Among other things, it helped develop infrastructure in the Altyn Dala nature reserve, which had previously been used for the reintroduction of kulans.



Prague Zoo (Zoologická zahrada hl. m. Prahy)
Website | Facebook | Instagram