This Issue:

Table of Contents

Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

Wild Again

By Kathyrn Satterfield

The wild horses of Mongolia, called Takhi, run freely through ancient tales of adventure. Some stories say that warriors conquered Asia on the backs of these horses. Others claim that even fierce fighters could not tame the spirited beasts. Whatever the truth, until recently it seemed the horses would live on only in legend.

The takhi, also known as Przewalski's (pzheh-vahl-skeez) horse, once roamed Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Its numbers dwindled in the 1800s as people crowded the herds' vast, grassy domain. The takhi disappeared from the wild in the 1960s, killed off by hunters and the loss of its grazing habitat. About 50 of the horses survived in zoos and wildlife parks in the United States, Europe and Asia. The animals in captivity were the species' only hope for survival.

Full Steed Ahead
Captive-breeding programs are slowly bringing the takhi back. Today, at least 300 wild horses freely roam through three protected sites in Mongolia. The horses were born in zoos and parks, then returned to the land of their ancestors.

The current comeback was spurred by three Dutch scientists. In 1977, they created the Foundation for the Preservation and Protection of the Przewalski Horse. The captive population was unhealthy because the horses in each breeding group were too closely related. Fewer foals were being born, and newborns often died young. So the foundation set up a breeding program between the different captive populations. It was a success. In 1992, 16 foals were sent to Mongolia. They thrived, and the current herd now includes horses born in the wild.

The San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park, in California, has sent takhi foals to China. "There's a real push to put them back in regions where they (lived) historically," says Oliver Ryder, a scientist who works with the San Diego horses. "It's entirely up to people how much space we want to give them."

Next: Mr. Mix-It