Another “Magnificent Seven” Herd Arrives in Kazakhstan

Earlier this month seven Przewalski's horses arrived in Kazakhstan, marking the second homecoming within a year under the "Return of the Wild Horses" project.

On June 2, two Czech military transport planes carried three horses from the Prague Zoo and four from Hungary’s Hortobagy National Park to Arkalyk airport in northern Kazakhstan. From there, they made a five-hour journey on land to the “Alibi” Ungulate Reintroduction Center, located in Altyn Dala State Nature Reserve in central Kazakhstan. The new herd will spend one year in a spacious acclimatization enclosure, adapting to the local climate and learning to find food and water on the open steppe before release into the wild.

Kazakhstan began reintroducing Przewalski’s horses in June 2024, when the initial seven were transported from the Prague Zoo to the Altyn Dala Reserve. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources reports that these pioneers survived the harsh winter of 2024 and successfully passed the acclimatization period.  The horses have been released into the wild, with specialists maintaining close veterinary supervision.

Przewalski’s horses hold a special meaning in Kazakh culture and history. Long ago, Kazakhs bestowed them with the names kerkulan (“bay kulan”) and kertagy (“bay wild horse”), highlighting the horses’ spirited wild nature and color. In 2024 the Forestry and Wildlife Committee updated official government documents to include these Kazakh names.

Like other wild ungulate steppe dwellers, namely, the saiga antelope and kulan (Asiatic wild ass), Przewalski’s horses are important ecosystem engineers, grazing on a wide variety of grasses, trampling soil, and helping to restore the natural balance of the steppes.

The “Return of the Wild Horses Project” is a partnership led by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources (through its Committee of Forestry and Wildlife) together with several organizations worldwide. Beyond Kazakhstan’s borders, the Prague Zoo, Hortobágy National Park, and Frankfurt Zoological Society, among other groups, offer services and expertise. In Kazakhstan, the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK) and the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative are key players.  The project’s long-term goal is to bring 40-45 Przewalski’s horses to Kazakhstan by 2029—helping to re-establish self-sustaining herds on their homeland.