They have very thick coats (thicker than most horse's winter coats) that protect them from the bitter cold of winter in the Gobi Desert. They also have short tail hair at the dock and longer hair further down the tail, an adaptation for protection against the year round wind.
Their eyes have a wide field of vision due to their location, and their ears are set high on their head to detect predators. They are short and muscular, good for evading predators and huddling against the cold.
Additionally, some unique characteristics include:
* Their upright mane-almost looks roached * Their universal dun color * They are the last species of truly wild horses * "The entire world population consists of no more than 1,435 individual animals" * They are called takh in Mongolian * They are not like domestic horses, in that they cannot be tamed or safely handled without full tranquilization. Visit: http://www.treemail.nl/takh/
for more information
Livingston, Bernard. Zoo Animals, People, Places. New York: Arbor House, 1974 Check out this book, if you can. It has my heartfelt endorsement. I picked it up at a Tacoma Library book sale last year when I was homeless and spent so much of my time there. I have read it every day over the past year. It is an inspiration. The author is a consistent advocate for the rights of animals and a tireless champion of zoos and all the challenges they face in trying to balance economics, politics, and the needs of rare and endangered species, giving a well-rounded view of zoos' history, dating back to the royal menageries of ancient times. He explains how Prezewalski's Horse was hunted to worldwide extinction, the last survivor in the wild being killed in Europe in or around 1923. The only remaining member's of this species, which we can see on cave wall paintings, were in zoos, particularly the Bronx Zoo, which was also instrumental in saving the American Bison from extinction. At the time of the book's writing, there were plan's to reintroduce the horse into the wild in Eastern Europe. I would like to know how that went. Bernard Livingston is also a lover of my San Diego Zoological Society. Reading his book made me realize how lucky I was to be weaned on the zoos of San Diego. In addition to the story of Przewalski's Horse, he gives a detailed account of the life of "our country's sweetheart" the baby gorilla, Patty Cake, born in New York's Central Park Zoo and beloved of millions, and the original Smokey Bear, who was saved as a cub from a raging forest fire. For an inside look at life in a zoo, this book is indispensable.
Przewalski horses will eat grasses, beneficial weeds, tree bark, and even soil to meet their nutritional needs.
Do to the nature of the language, the pronunciation of this word is surprisingly not what we would think. English speakers will generally pronounce this as "per-zuh-wall-skee". However the proper pronunciation is "Shuh- vall- skee"
because they have lost much of their natural habitat to grazing domestic animals, farmers, and lack of other przewalski horses to mate with
This is a very good question! I have scoured the web, my school library and my equine focused brain and found no definitive answer. As a last resort, I have compared the two skeletal systems and conformation and I have these estimates:
Walk: 2.64 mph (4.26 kph)
Trot: 5.38 mph (8.66 kph)
Canter (Lope): 7.87 mph (1.66 kph)
Gallop: 18.63 mph (29.99 kph)
I tried my best, and I hope this somewhat answers your question.
They have one foal at a time per year like all other horses :):) xx
the life cycle for horses are for all breeds. it is a dumb life cycle
The Przewalski horse is one of the last true wild horses. They are mostly found in eastern Europe. For all wild horses there is safety in numbers. With numerous pairs of eyes and ears odds are good that someone will be alert to danger. A horse, being a "fight or flight" animal will usually pick flight. They will try to avoid a confrontation with a preditor. When they feel they have to fight they will use teeth, hooves both front and back and their considerable strenght.
Russian general
Because they still live in the wild an roam free, and all other horses don't though some are bred in zoos.
all przewalkis horses are dun (cream with a black mane and tail) and a black stripe down the back (dorsal stripe).
Wild horses have the same behavious as domestic ones. They are herd animals. They need the socialization of other horses. They are geared to the 'herd mentality' because of course, there is greater safety in numbers. The more eyes and ears there are the better chance to spot, and flee, from a predator.
In the domestic horse, people replace other horses and become the 'alpha', or boss, in their relationship with their horse. If you are not the alpha there is a problem.