Latest edition for Przewalski's horse conservation
Highland Wildlife Park has welcomed the birth of a Przewalski's horse – the latest edition to an endangered species that has previously been extinct in the wild.
This is the first Przewalski's horse to be born in five years at the park, which is ran by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS).
The foal's father, six-year-old Hero, arrived at the park in summer 2012 and is experiencing parenthood for the first time. The foal's mother, Jada, is 12 years old.
Przewalski's horses have stark golden colouring and upright black manes. The species was last seen in the wild in 1968, prior to being reintroduced to Mongolia's Hustai National Mark in the 1990s.
Now listed as endangered, there are around 1,500 in captive breeding programmes worldwide.
"Przewalski’s horses are one of the best examples of the positive conservation role that good zoos can play," said Douglas Richardson, head of living collections at the park.
"Had it not been for the cooperatively-managed captive population, when the species became extinct in the wild in the late 1960s there would have been no reintroduction option that has allowed us to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat."
The foal is said to be doing well and can already be seen out in the park's reserve.
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
