Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting There & Away
Buses pick up passengers every hour or so from the east end of Peace Ave in Ulaan-
baatar, near the Jukov statue, a couple of kilometres east of the city centre, bound for
Gachuurt (T600, 45 minutes). You can also get a taxi from UB (T8000).
TAKHI - THE REINTRODUCTION OF A SPECIES
The year was 1969 and a herder in western Mongolia spotted a rare takhi(wild
horse) in the distance. It was an extraordinary find as so few takhiwere left in the
wild. Alas, it was also the final sighting; with no new reports thereafter, scientists
had to declare the species extinct in the wild - the result of poaching, overgrazing
by livestock and human encroachment on their breeding grounds.
All was not lost for the takhi, however, as a dozen individual horses were known
to exist in zoos outside Mongolia - their ancestors had been captured by game
hunters in the early 20th century. A small group of conservationists dedicated
themselves to breeding the animals with the hope that one day they could be rein-
troduced to Mongolia.
The conservationists did not fare so well with Mongolia's suspicious communist
government, but when democracy arrived in the early 1990s they were welcomed
with open arms. By that time the worldwide population was around 1500,
scattered around zoos in Australia, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Between 1992 and 2004, takhiwere reintroduced into Mongolia at Khustain Na-
tional Park, Takhiin Tal in Gov-Altai, and Khomyn Tal in Zavkhan. Today there are
more than 300 takhiin Khustain, 80 in Takhiin Tal and 12 in Khomyn Tal. Given the
political and logistical challenges to the project, their reintroduction is nothing
short of miraculous, making it one of the most successful conservation stories of
our times. In 2013, 40 new foals were born in Khustain alone.
The takhi, also known as Przewalski's horse (named after the Polish explorer
who first 'discovered' the horse in 1878), are now descended from the bloodline of
three stallions, so computerised records have been introduced to avoid inbreeding.
They are the last remaining wild horse worldwide, the forerunner of the domestic
horse, as depicted in cave paintings in France. They are not simply horses that
have become feral or wild, as found in the USA or Australia, but a genetically differ-
ent species, boasting two extra chromosomes in their DNA make-up.
Within the parks, the laws of nature are allowed to run their course; an average of
five foals are killed by wolves every year in Khustain. The park gets locals onside by
hiring herders as rangers, offering cheap loans to others and offering employment
at a cheese-making factory on the outskirts of the park.
For more info, including volunteering possibilities, check out
www.treemail.nl/
