A mare named Umbra just gave birth on the Kazakh steppe — the second wild Przewalski's horse foal born in the country in less than two weeks, and only the second time this once-extinct species has reproduced in the wild in 200 years.

  • 2 wild foals born in Kazakhstan since Aug. 22, 2026
  • 22 Przewalski's horses reintroduced to the country since 2024
  • 489,000 hectares of protected steppe at Altyn Dala Nature Reserve
  • ~40 horses targeted by the program by 2029

A species that came back from zero

Przewalski's horse — known in Kazakh as kerqulan — is the world's last truly wild horse species. Habitat loss, hunting, and interbreeding with domestic horses pushed it to extinction in the wild by the mid-20th century. Every living Przewalski's horse today descends from a small number of animals preserved in zoos and breeding centers. The species has deep roots in the region: it has been depicted in cave paintings in France and Spain dating back over 20,000 years, and fossil evidence places wild horses across the Central Asian steppe for millennia.

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, together with European zoos and conservation groups, has spent the past two years reversing that history. Seven horses arrived from Europe in 2024, another seven in 2025, and eight more in 2026, all released into the Altyn Dala State Nature Reserve in the Kostanai Region — a 489,000-hectare stretch of protected grassland chosen for its water sources and lack of fencing.

Two foals, two milestones

The first foal, born Aug. 22 to a mare named Tessa (who arrived from Berlin's Tierpark in 2024), was the first wild Przewalski's horse birth in Kazakhstan in two centuries. Days later, a second foal arrived — born to Umbra at the Alibi Wild Ungulates Reintroduction Center, according to The Astana Times.

Specialists are monitoring both mares and foals, tracking movement and health data through GPS collars fitted before release. Every horse selected for the program undergoes genetic and health screening first, prioritizing genetic diversity and a balanced mix of ages and sexes.

"We selected the strongest, most adaptable individuals. We know everything about them from their health history to their genetic traits. Horses are chosen not just for fitness but to avoid inbreeding and ensure long-term viability," said Endre Sós, then-chief veterinarian at Hungary's Hortobágy National Park.

The project is a joint effort among Kazakhstan's Committee of Forestry and Wildlife, Prague Zoo, the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan, the Frankfurt Zoological Society, Nuremberg Zoo, Berlin's Tierpark, and Hortobágy National Park, with veterinary support from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research. Background on the reintroduction effort is available from Fauna & Flora International, one of the partner organizations.

Why two births matter more than one

A single successful birth could be a fluke. Two, from two different mares within two weeks of each other, is evidence that the reintroduced herd is adapting to steppe life and breeding on its own — the actual goal of the program, not just relocating animals. Wild horses also play an outsized ecological role: their grazing keeps grasslands open, cycles nutrients, and creates habitat used by saiga antelope, steppe eagles, and other species that share the reserve.

The ministry plans to bring the total population to roughly 40 horses by 2029, with natural reproduction expected to carry the population from there. If the pattern holds, Kazakhstan's grasslands could host a self-sustaining wild population of the world's only truly wild horse species for the first time in two centuries — proof that a species once written off as extinct in the wild can still come back, one foal at a time.