Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Cao Hua) news: According to the Xinjiang Wild Horse Breeding and Research Center, on December 3, 2024, six Przewalski's horses from China's Xinjiang were successfully sent to the Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, as the last horse bolted out of its crate. This marks a further expansion of the Przewalski's horse reintroduction area in China.

Photo shows the six Przewalski's horses from China's Xinjiang are successfully sent to the Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Photo offered by the Xinjiang Wild Horse Breeding and Research Center)

"The six Przewalski's horses consist of one male and five females, carefully selected from over 100 horses at the Xinjiang Tianshan Wildlife Park based on genetic testing and health checks, all of which are in their prime of life," said Yang Jianming, director of the Xinjiang Wild Horse Breeding Research Center. To ensure the smooth progress of the long-distance transportation, the Xinjiang Tianshan Wildlife Park began work on separating the horses into groups, constructing fences, training, and loading them into crates two months ago, laying the foundation for the successful transportation of the horses. On December 2, 2024, after being led into crates, the six horses embarked on their journey, traveling day and night. They were fed forage and water three times during the trip. After 30 hours and a journey of 2,500 kilometers, they arrived comfortably at Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

It is learned that there have been historical records of Przewalski's horses in the Helan Mountain area of Ningxia. The Xinjiang Wild Horse Breeding and Research Center conducted two site visits to the Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve in Ningxia in advance to ultimately choosing three sites. After evaluating these sites in terms of climate, vegetation, soil, and other factors, it was determined that the natural environment of the Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve in Ningxia is similar to that of Przewalski's horses' natural habitat in Xinjiang, and that the horses would be able to adapt to the local environment.

"According to the plan, we will reintroduce a second batch of 12 Przewalski's horses to the Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve in Ningxia next spring, bringing the total number of horses there to 18," said Yang Jianming. The Xinjiang Wild Horse Breeding and Research Center will closely cooperate with the Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve in Ningxia to carry out follow-up monitoring and scientific research on the horses to ensure they settle and live happily in Ningxia.

Przewalski's horse is a species naturally distributed in China but had disappeared in the wild for a time. In 1985, China began reintroducing captive Przewalski's horses from European and American countries. Through years of tireless efforts, the number of artificially bred Przewalski's horses has continued to grow, and wild horses have been re-established, making it a successful example of wild horses restoration in the field of global wildlife conservation. According to statistics, the existing number of Przewalski's horses in China has exceeded 700.

With the expansion of the Przewalski's horses, China's Xinjiang has actively explored expanding the reintroducing areas for Przewalski's horses in recent years, and has successfully reintroduced Przewalski's horses to northwest China's Gansu Province and north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

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