Editing Przewalski's horse (section)

==Ecology and behavior==
{{main|Horse behavior}}
[[File:Wintercoat.jpg|thumb|Winter coat]]
Przewalski reported the horses forming troops of between five and fifteen members, consisting of a mature stallion, his mares and foals.<ref name=Nature /> Modern reintroduced populations similarly form family groups of one adult stallion, one to three mares, and their common offspring that stay in the family group until they are no longer dependent, usually at two or three years old. Young females join other harems, while bachelor stallions as well as old stallions who have lost their harems join bachelor groups.<ref name=Kerekes>{{cite journal |first1=Viola |last1=Kerekes |first2=István |last2=Sándor |first3=Dorina |last3=Nagy |first4=Katalin |last4=Ozogány |first5=Loránd |last5=Göczi |first6=Benjamin |last6=Ibler |first7=Lajos |last7=Széles |first8=Zoltán |last8=Barta |title=Trends in demography, genetics, and social structure of Przewalski's horses in the Hortobagy National Park, Hungary over the last 22 years |journal=Global Ecology and Conservation |year=2021 |volume=25 |page=e01307 | doi=10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01407|doi-access=free |bibcode=2021GEcoC..2501407K }}</ref>  Family groups can join to form a herd that moves together.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

The patterns of their daily lives exhibit [[horse behavior]] similar to that of [[feral horse]] herds. Stallions herd, drive, and defend all members of their family, while the mares often display leadership in the family. Stallions and mares stay with their preferred partners for years. While behavioral synchronization is high among mares, stallions other than the main harem stallion are generally less stable in this respect.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

Home range in the wild is little studied, but estimated as {{Cvt|1.2–24|km2|sqmi|sigfig=2}} in the Hustai National Park and {{Cvt|150-825|km2|sqmi}} in the [[Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Przewalski's Horse (Equus ferus) Fact Sheet: Behavior & Ecology |url=http://ielc.libguides.com/sdzg/factsheets/przewalskishorse/behavior |publisher=San Diego Zoo Global Library |via=IELC |access-date=29 April 2019 |archive-date=2 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802000437/http://ielc.libguides.com/sdzg/factsheets/przewalskishorse/behavior |url-status=live }}</ref> The ranges of harems are separated, but slightly overlapping.<ref name=Kerekes /> They have few modern predators, but one of the few is the [[Himalayan wolf]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Balajeid Lyngdoh |first1=S. |last2=Habib |first2=B. |last3=Shrotriya |first3=S. |title=Dietary spectrum in Himalayan wolves: comparative analysis of prey choice in conspecifics across high-elevation rangelands of Asia |journal=Journal of Zoology |date=January 2020 |volume=310 |issue=1 |pages=24–33 |doi=10.1111/jzo.12724 |s2cid=202010931 |url=https://cdn.downtoearth.org.in/library/0.69048700_1565775720_dietary-spectrum-in-himalayan-wolves.pdf |access-date=1 March 2023 |archive-date=24 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024183034/https://cdn.downtoearth.org.in/library/0.69048700_1565775720_dietary-spectrum-in-himalayan-wolves.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Horses maintain visual contact with their family and herd at all times, and have a host of ways to communicate with one another, including vocalizations, [[scent marking]], and a wide range of visual and tactile signals. Each kick, groom, tilt of the ear, or other contact with another horse is a means of communicating. This constant communication leads to complex social behaviors among Przewalski's horses.<ref>{{cite book |author=Feh, C. |year=2005 |article=Relationships and communication in socially natural horse herds |title=The Domestic Horse: the evolution, development and management of its behaviour |editor1=Mills, Daniel |editor2=McDonnell, Sue |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref>

The historical population was said to have lived in the "wildest parts of the desert" with a preference for "especially saline districts".<ref name=Nature /> They were observed mostly during spring and summer at natural wells, migrating to them by crossing valleys rather than by way of higher mountains.<ref name=boyd94 />

===Diet===
[[File:Equus przewalskii Le Villaret 02 2006-07-20.jpg|thumb|left|Przewalski's horses]]
Przewalski horse's diet consists of vegetation. Many plant species are in a typical Przewalski's horse environment, including: ''[[Elymus repens]]'', ''[[Carex]] ''spp., [[Fabaceae]], and [[Asteraceae]].<ref name="pol.j.ecol.cbe-pan.pl">{{cite journal |url=http://www.pol.j.ecol.cbe-pan.pl/article/ar59_4_19.pdf |title=Diet of the Przewalski's horse ''Equus przewalskii'' in the Chernobyl exclusion zone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029185432/http://www.pol.j.ecol.cbe-pan.pl/article/ar59_4_19.pdf |archive-date=29 October 2013 |author1=Kateryna Slivinska |author2=Grzegorz Kopij |journal=Polish Journal of Ecology |volume=59 |issue=4 |pages=841–847 |date=July 2011 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
Looking at the species' diet overall, Przewalski's horses most often eat ''E.&nbsp;repens'', ''[[Trifolium pratense]]'', ''[[Vicia cracca]]'', ''[[Poa trivialis]]'', ''[[Dactylis glomerata]]'', and ''[[Bromus inermis]]''.<ref name="pol.j.ecol.cbe-pan.pl"/>

While the horses eat a variety of different plant species, they tend to favor different species at different times of year. In the springtime, they favor ''Elymus repens'', ''[[Corynephorus canescens]]'', ''[[Festuca valesiaca]],'' and ''[[Chenopodium album]]''. In early summer, they favor ''Dactylis glomerata'' and ''[[Trifolium]]'', and in late summer, they gravitate towards ''E.&nbsp;repens'' and ''Vicia cracca''.<ref name="pol.j.ecol.cbe-pan.pl"/>

In winter the horses eat ''[[Salix]] ''spp., ''[[Pyrus communis]]'', ''[[Malus]] sylvatica'', ''[[Pinus sylvestris]]'', ''[[Rose|Rosa]]'' spp., and ''[[Alnus]]'' spp. Additionally, Przewalski's horses may dig for ''[[Festuca]]'' spp., ''Bromus inermis'', and ''E.&nbsp;repens'' that grow beneath the ice and snow. Their winter diet is very similar to the winter diet of domestic horses,<ref name="pol.j.ecol.cbe-pan.pl"/> but differs from that revealed by isotope analysis of the historical (pre-captivity) population, which switched in winter to browsing shrubs, though the difference may be due to the extreme habitat pressure the historical population was under.<ref name=isotope/> In the wintertime, they eat their food more slowly than they do during other times of the year. Przewalski's horses seasonally display a set of changes collectively characteristic of physiologic adaptation to starvation, with their [[basal metabolic rate]] in winter being half what it is during springtime. This is not a direct consequence of decreased nutrient intake, but rather a programmed response to predictable seasonal dietary fluctuation.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Arnold |first1=Walter |last2=Ruf  |first2=Thomas |last3=Kuntz |first3=Regina |title=Seasonal adjustment of energy budget in a large wild mammal, the Przewalski horse (Equus ferus przewalskii) II. Energy expenditure |journal=The Journal of Experimental Biology |volume=209 |pages=4566–4573 |year=2006 |issue=22 |doi=10.1242/jeb.02536|pmid=17079726 |s2cid=250512 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2006JExpB.209.4566A }}</ref>

===Reproduction===
Mating occurs in late spring or early summer. Mating stallions do not start looking for mating partners until the age of five. Stallions assemble groups of mares or challenge the leader of another group for dominance. Females are able to give birth at the age of three and have a gestation period of 11–12&nbsp;months. Foals are able to stand about an hour after birth.<ref name=ADW>{{cite web |last=Luu |first=J. |title=''Equus caballus przewalskii'' |url=http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Equus_caballus_przewalskii/ |publisher=University of Michigan Museum of Zoology |website=Animal Diversity Web |access-date=29 April 2019 |archive-date=20 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420173012/https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Equus_caballus_przewalskii/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The rate of infant mortality among foals is 25%, with 83.3% of these deaths resulting from leading stallion [[Infanticide (zoology)|infanticide]].<ref name=Xinjiang/> Foals begin grazing within a few weeks but are not weaned for 8–13 months after birth.<ref name=ADW/> They reach sexual maturity at two years of age.<ref>{{cite web |title=Przewalski's Horse |url=https://www.aboutanimals.com/mammal/przewalskis-horse/ |website=aboutanimals |date=4 February 2016 |access-date=29 April 2019 |archive-date=20 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420172947/https://www.aboutanimals.com/mammal/przewalskis-horse/ |url-status=live }}</ref>