Editing Przewalski's horse (section)

===Reintroduction===
[[File:Group of Takhi at Hustai.jpg|thumb|Przewalski's horses in Hustai Nuruu National Park]]
The Przewalski's Horse Reintroduction Project of China was initiated in 1985 when 11&nbsp;wild horses were imported from overseas. After more than two decades of effort, the [[Xinjiang]] Wild Horse Breeding Centre has bred a large number of horses, 55 of which were released into the [[Kalamely Mountain]] area. The animals quickly adapted to their new environment. In 1988, six foals were born and survived, and by 2001, over 100&nbsp;horses were at the centre. {{As of|2013}}, the center hosted 127 horses divided into 13&nbsp;breeding herds and three bachelor herds.{{cn|date=June 2024}} 

Reintroductions organized by Western European countries started in the 1990s. Several populations have now been released into the wild. A cooperative venture between the [[Zoological Society of London]] and Mongolian scientists has successfully reintroduced these horses from zoos into their natural habitat in Mongolia.  In 1992, 16 horses were released into the wild in Mongolia, followed by additional animals later. One of the areas to which they were reintroduced became [[Khustain Nuruu National Park]] in 1998. Another reintroduction site is [[Great Gobi&nbsp;B Strictly Protected Area]], located at the fringes of the [[Gobi Desert]].{{cn|date=June 2024}} 

In 2001, Przewalski's horses were reintroduced into the [[Kalamaili Nature Reserve]] in [[Xinjiang]], China.<ref name=Xinjiang>{{cite journal | last1=Chen | first1=Jinliang | last2=Weng | first2=Qiang | last3=Chao| first3=Jie | last4=Hu| first4=Defu | last5=Taya | first5=Kazuyoshi | title=Reproduction and Development of the Released Przewalski's Horses (''Equus przewalskii'') in Xinjiang, China | journal=Journal of Equine Science | volume=19 | issue=1 | pages=1–7 | year=2008 | doi=10.1294/jes.19.1 | pmid=24833949 | pmc=4019202}}</ref>  

Since 2004, there has been a program to reintroduce Przewalski's horses that were bred in France into Mongolia.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/11/Claudia-Feh-explorer-moments-reintroducing-endangered-Przewalski-horses-into-the-wild/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118125158/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/11/Claudia-Feh-explorer-moments-reintroducing-endangered-Przewalski-horses-into-the-wild/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 November 2016 |title=A Wild Horse on the Comeback Trail |first=Gary |last=Strauss |work=National Geographic |date=2016-11-17 |access-date=2019-04-14 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Instrumental to that 2004 reintroduction was [[Claudia Feh]], a Swiss equine specialist and conservation biologist, Feh led an effort to bring together animals that zoos had conserved to create a breeding population in southern France. Then, after it was established, three family groups were relocated to [[Khovd Province|Khovd]] in western Mongolia. At a site on the northern edge of the [[Gobi Desert]], Feh worked in cooperation with local people to ensure the horses survived and flourished. For this work, Feh received a [[Rolex Awards for Enterprise#2004|Rolex Award]] in 2004.<ref>{{cite web
	| url = https://www.rolex.org/rolex-awards/environment/claudia-feh
	| title = Claudia Feh: Wild Horses And Nomads
	| date = 2004
	| website = Rolex Awards
	| access-date = April 15, 2024
	| quote = Przewalski's horses had disappeared from the Mongolian steppes by the 1970s but Claudia Feh led one of several initiatives reintroducing them to the habitat they had ranged for centuries – and improved the lives of local nomads in the process.
	| archive-date = 3 March 2024
	| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240303054147/https://www.rolex.org/rolex-awards/environment/claudia-feh
	| url-status = live
	}}</ref>

In 2004 and 2005, 22&nbsp;horses were released by the Association Takh to a third reintroduction site in the buffer zone of the [[Khar Us Nuur National Park]], in the northern edge of the Gobi ecoregion. In the winter of 2009–2010, one of the worst ''[[dzud]]'' or snowy winter conditions ever hit Mongolia. The population of Przewalski's horse in the Great Gobi B SPA was drastically affected, providing clear evidence of the risks associated with reintroducing small and sequestered species in unpredictable and unfamiliar environments.{{citation needed|date=March 2021|reason=According to whom?}} 

After reintroduced horses had successfully reproduced, the status of the animal was changed from "extinct in the wild" to "[[endangered species |endangered]]" in 2005,<ref name=ZSL051219/> while on the [[IUCN Red List]] they were reclassified from "extinct in the wild" to "[[critically endangered]]", after a reassessment in 2008,<ref name=IUCN/> and from "critically endangered" to "endangered" after a 2011 reassessment.<ref name=IUCN2011/> 

In 2011, [[Prague Zoo]] started a new project, [[Return of the Wild Horses]]. With the support of public and many strategic partners, yearly transports of captive-bred horses into the [[Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area]] continued.<ref>{{cite web |title=Return of the Przewalski's Horse to Mongolia |url=https://www.zoopraha.cz/en/animals/we-help-them-to-survive/projects/7678-return-of-the-przewalski-s-horse-to-mongolia |website=Zoo Praha |access-date=2019-06-27 |df=dmy-all |language=en}}</ref>  {{As of|2011|lc=y}}, an estimated total of almost 400&nbsp;horses existed in three free-ranging populations in the wild.<ref name=IUCN2011/> Prague Zoo has transported horses to Mongolia in several rounds in cooperation with partners (Czech Air Force, European Breeding Programme for Przewalski's Horses, Association pour le cheval de Przewalski: Takh, Czech Development Agency, Czech Embassy in Mongolia, and others). The zoo has the longest uninterrupted history of breeding Przewalski's horses in the world and keeps the studbook of this species.{{cn|date=June 2024}} 

The first reintroduction into the [[Orenburg Oblast|Orenburg]] region on the Russian steppe occurred in 2016.<ref>{{cite news| last=Blua | first=Antoine | title=Endangered Przewalski's Horses Back On Russian Steppe | date=13 March 2016 | access-date=17 December 2020 | publisher=RadioFreeEurope | url=https://www.rferl.org/a/endangered-horses-back-on-russian-steppe/27607786.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Bakirova | first1=Rafilia T | last2=Sharkikh | first2=Tatjana | title=Programme on establishing a semi-free population of Przewalski's horse in Orenburg State Nature Reserve: the first successful project on the reintroduction of the species in Russia | journal=Nature Conservation Research | volume=4 | issue=Supplement 2 | pages=57–64  | year=2019| doi=10.24189/ncr.2019.025| doi-access=free | url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/programme-on-establishing-a-semi-free-population-of-przewalski-s-horse-in-orenburg-state-nature-reserve-the-first-successful-project-on-the/pdf }}</ref> 

In May 2023, a herd of ten Przewalski's horses obtained from [[Monts D'Azur Biological Reserve]] in France was introduced by [[Rewilding Europe]] to the Iberian Highlands rewilding landscape in Spain, near [[Villanueva de Alcorón]]. Following an acclimatization period, the horses were released into the reserve proper in September. This introduction was intended to address the buildup of dense scrub caused by the decrease in traditional sheep grazing due to rural depopulation. The horses are intended to fill a niche similar to that of the extinct European wild horse and of contemporary domesticated [[herbivore]]s by opening the landscape through low-intensity grazing and browsing, thereby enhancing biodiversity and lowering the risk of [[forest fire]]s. Future introductions are planned.<ref>{{cite news | title=How an Iberian rewilding plan aims to repopulate 'empty Spain' | date=7 July 2023 | access-date=29 October 2023 | work=[[The Guardian]] | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/07/iberian-rewilding-project-aims-repopulate-empty-spain | archive-date=4 August 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804042614/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/07/iberian-rewilding-project-aims-repopulate-empty-spain | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Western Europe's first free-roaming herd of Przewalski's horses to enhance Iberian Highland rewilding | date=8 July 2023 | access-date=29 October 2023 | publisher=[[Rewilding Europe]] | url=https://rewildingeurope.com/news/western-europes-first-free-roaming-herd-of-przewalskis-horses-to-enhance-iberian-highland-rewilding/ | archive-date=10 July 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230710092015/https://rewildingeurope.com/news/western-europes-first-free-roaming-herd-of-przewalskis-horses-to-enhance-iberian-highland-rewilding/ | url-status=live }}</ref> 

In June 2024 six mares and a stallion were reintroduced to [[Kazakhstan]] from zoos in Europe,<ref name="Grdn2024">{{cite news |last1=Kevany |first1=Sophie |title=Wild horses return to Kazakhstan steppes after absence of two centuries |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/10/przewalskis-horses-only-wild-species-return-central-asian-steppes-kazakhstan |access-date=12 June 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=10 June 2024}}</ref> ten years after plans were announced to do so.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rutz |first=Julia |title=Effort Begins to Revive Endangered Przewalski Horse Population in Kazakhstan |date=11 November 2014 |access-date=18 December 2020 |publisher=Astana Times |url=https://astanatimes.com/2014/11/effort-begins-revive-endangered-przewalski-horse-population-kazakhstan/ |archive-date=14 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514184846/https://astanatimes.com/2014/11/effort-begins-revive-endangered-przewalski-horse-population-kazakhstan/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The operation was organised by [[Prague Zoo]], which selected horses from various programs in Europe, which were housed at [[Tierpark Berlin]] for some months before being transported to Kazakhstan in Czech army planes.<ref>{{cite web | last=Mao | first=Frances | title=Przewalski's horses return to Kazakhstan steppes after 200 years | website=BBC News | date=13 June 2024 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cljj0y15nnko | access-date=13 June 2024}}</ref>