The Przewalski horse population continues to grow. At the end of 2020, 487 animals of the endangered horse breed lived in the Xinjiang region in the far northwest of the People’s Republic of China.

The coat color varies from gray-yellow to red-brown © IMAGO / Xinhua

For a long time the Przewalski horse was considered the only wild horse species that still exists today.
Research has shown, however, that the horses of the Mongolian steppe with the characteristic long mane and flour nose are wild descendants of the first domesticated horses – which of course does not make Przewalski, which is on the Red List of Endangered Species, any less worthy of protection .

The news that the wildlings are increasing in their original homeland is all the more gratifying.

The population of the endangered Przewalski horses is growing again. © Erdenebayer | pixabay.com

Gone and yet back

The last free-living Przewalski horse was sighted in Mongolia in 1969. Since then, the Thakis have been considered extinct in the wild.
They had been hunted to extinction for their fur and meat and lost their habitat to grazing cattle.

The survival of the Przewalski horses is solely thanks to breeding programs in zoos and breeding centers.
The horses have been released back into the wild since the 1990s. In the meantime, several hundred Przewalski horses gallop through the grassy steppes of Mongolian protected areas.

Eel line and standing mane: Przewalski horses © IMAGO / Anka Agency International

In Mongolia, there are more than 500 wild Przewalski’s horses,with an adult population of 178 horses.

Exceptionally few captive Przewalski horses succeeded through the 1950s, and the last sighting of a wild individual occurred in 1969.

The species was listed as extinct from the wild in the 1960s until reintroduction programs began.
The species’ status has improved from extinct in the wild, followed by critically endangered, to a still-precarious endangered.

They are still considered critically endangered.

Like all wild horses, Przewalski’s horses live in small family groups consisting of a stallion, three to five mares and young foals.
Males without their own mares form their own “bachelor” groups. Bachelor horses fight bitterly for the right to mate and have their own group of mares (called harem).
They keep the rest of their herd in sight at all times and communicate through lots of noises, ear twitches and odor markings.

The Przewalski’s horse is a subspecies of Equus ferus and is considered to be the domestic horse’s closest relative.
It is a cousin to zebras and the wild ass, which also falls under the Equidae family.

The split between Przewalski’s horse species and the ancestors of domestic horses happened somewhere between 120,000 and 240,000 years ago.

The beautiful wild horses owe their name – pronounced Pschewalski – to the Russian researcher Nikolai Michailowitsch Przhevalsky.
He discovered the largely unknown horses during his expeditions to Central Asia at the end of the 19th century.
But even then the wild horses had become rare.

Scientists do not quite agree whether the Przewalski horses are actually real wild horses, i.e. were never domesticated.
A genetic study from 2018 suggests that horses in Mongolia may have been domesticated several thousand years ago and only then went wild again.
A later study again supports the hypothesis that they are real wild horses after all.

https://www.treehugger.com/przewalskis-horse-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-last-wild-horses-4863638https://blog.wwf.de/wildpferde-fakten-przewalski-pferd/

And I mean…Horses play an important role in the culture of Mongolia. Przewalski’s horses, in particular, symbolize the national heritage and culture of this country.

Otherwise called the Mongolian wild horse, this mammal is an object of various folk tales. In this country, Przewalski’s horses are considered the riding mounts of the Gods and are hence called “takhi”, literally meaning “spirit” or “holy”.

These animals possess very sharp hooves, which they use in digging the ground, typically in search of a water source in their dry habitat.
There have been found prehistoric, 30,000 years old cave paintings in Spain and France, which feature sturdy ungulates, closely resembling those currently known as Przewalski’s horses.

Community members form very close bonds between each other. They feed together and practice mutual grooming. Communication system of Przewalski’s horses includes neighing calls, which display threat submission or frustration.
Additionally, these neighing calls are used to alert group members of a predator.

It is very good news to learn that the population of these intelligent and beautiful animals is growing.
In fact, there isn’t a single animal species that shouldn’t grow.
There is only one whose growth threatens all others.

My best regards to all, Venus

In relation to our very recent post regarding (S)hell moving to the UK – see the climate activist video in this:

NL / UK: Shell; Eco Destroyers, Pull the Plug on the NL and Ready Instead for the UK. Watch the Environmentalist Girl Do Her Bit With the CEO On Video – Welcome Mr CEO to the UK ! – World Animals Voice

Nicola Sturgeon, first minister of Scotland has now stated that the proposed oil field in Scottish waters should NOT be given the green light to proceed.

Speaking on Tuesday afternoon the first minister told MSPs that the new field, at Cambo off Shetland, “could not and should not pass any rigorous climate assessment”.

It comes after climate campaigners urged her to get off the fence on the issue. She had previously said the development should be reassessed but stopped short of saying it should be cancelled.

“I don’t think we can go on extracting oil and gas forever, and I don’t think we can continue to give the go ahead to new oil fields.

“I have set out a proposal for a climate assessment and I think the presumption would be that Cambo could not and should not pass any rigorous climate assessment.”

Source:

Cambo: Nicola Sturgeon says new oil field should be blocked on climate grounds (msn.com)

Regards Mark

China outbreak fears as 18 ‘high risk’ viruses found in wet markets: ‘Pandemic waiting’ (msn.com)

China outbreak fears as 18 ‘high risk’ viruses found in wet markets: ‘Pandemic waiting’

The Huanan Seafood Market where traders sold live mammals, reptiles and fish was linked to the initial outbreak of coronavirus in 2019. According to British scientist Dr Eddie Holmes, Chinese experts had highlighted the risk of a virus “spilling over” from animals to humans five years before the start of the pandemic. Now experts have sounded the alarm over history repeating itself.They warn that wildlife species that are traded sold and consumed in China’s wet markets are a “pandemic waiting to happen”.

A new study published on November 12, has identified 71 mammalian viruses, including 18 “high risk” that could be dangerous to humans and other animals.

According to the researchers, the most worrying was the microbes found in civets, a small nocturnal animal.

This species is believed to have carried the SARS coronavirus from bats to humans in China in 2002.

Co-author of the study, Edward Holmes, said: “This study highlights exactly why the wildlife trade and live animal markets are a pandemic accident waiting to happen.

“This paper also shows that humans regularly transmit their viruses to other animals. There’s clearly two-way virus traffic.”

Experts have also identified cross-species transmission of animal viruses with the most worrying being the transmission of a bat coronavirus to a civet.

Professor Holmes added: “A further species jump from civets into humans could easily start a major outbreak.

“The animals sold as game in live animal markets carry a wide range of viral pathogens.

“The right virus in the right animal at the right time could easily trigger a global pandemic.”

The origin of COVID-19 remains a mystery.

But recent analysis does suggest that closely-related viruses are much more widely distributed than previously believed.

The report, written by Etienne Simon-Loriere of the Pasteur Institute in Paris and Veasna Duong of the Pasteur Institute International Network in Phnom Penh, was based on two samples obtained from horseshoe bats in Cambodia.

Their conclusions suggest similar coronaviruses may be endemic in large areas of south-east Asia.

The report, published by Scientific journal Nature last week, highlights horseshoe bats (genus Rhinolophus) as the “main natural reservoir” of SARS-related coronaviruses, also named Sarbecoviruses2.

It states: “Indeed, a high diversity of coronavirus species have been found in Rhinolophus bats collected in several provinces of China.

“To date, the closest relatives to SARS-CoV-2 were identified from horseshoe bats sampled in the Yunnan province, southern China.”

When will politicians actually take note and vent their anger at China killing so many around the world ?

Regards Mark

WAV Comment – Is being in the EU everything ‘they’ wish it to be ?

Maybe others need to do a ‘Brexit’ and take back some of their own national control; and pride !

Once Shell move entirely to the UK, campaigners can really start on them and show what their alleged climate action is all about.

There is an obvious reason for the move, and I would have a slight haphazard guess that it is something to do with money and possibly orders from the Dutch courts.

Who knows the real reasons ? – we never will; but for the future, welcome Shell to the UK; people are ready for you;

Like this for example:

Recent information:

‘Losing Dutch pride because of EU’ Nexit fury as Shell chooses Brexit Britain as new home (msn.com)

Dutch government only has itself to blame for Shell move to UK (msn.com)

Some of our recent posts relating to Shell:

The video is worth a watch:

UK; Twas The Night Before COP26 – British Comedian Joe Lycett Holds ‘Shell’ (Oil Giant) To Account For Their Green Sales Techniques. He Literally Talks Shit ! – World Animals Voice

Netherlands: ‘The climate has won today’ – Shell ordered to cut CO2 emissions by 45% in landmark climate case. – World Animals Voice

Regards Mark