Meet the Przewalski's horse, often called just a P-horse, an equine long-thought the last truly wild horse. All horses, even mustangs and Chincoteague ponies, are only feral, as they had domesticated ancestors. Przewalski's horses have a short, stocky build, thick necks, low-set tails, and coloring that resembles wild equid ancestors. They have light-colored muzzles and bellies, a dark dorsal stripe along their backs, and zebra-like upright mane with no forelock and bar-stripe patterns on their legs.

The short bristly mane, like that of a zebra, and robust and bulging jaw starts to tell the story of the animal scientists thought was the last truly wild horse.

A genetic study published in 2018 found that the breed is instead a descendant of the first horses thought to have been domesticated by humans. Scientists cannot trace modern horses back to these horses, so somewhere along the way, humans tamed horses again. Though not truly wild, the Przewalski's horse, native to the steppes of central Asia, is endangered.

If you'd like to see a Przewalski's horse in person, several zoos in North America have them as residents, including San Diego Zoo, Smithsonian's National Zoo, Brookfield Zoo, and Toronto Zoo. But for the real history and heart of the conservation of the species, Prague Zoo is the place to go. That's where Len lives, the grandson of the last Przewalski's horse caught in the wild.

Here are 10 Cool Facts About the Przewalski's Horse

1. Przewalski's Horse is a Subspecies of Equus ferrus

The Przewalski's horse is a subspecies of Equus ferus and is considered the closest relative of the domestic horse. It is a cousin to zebras and the wild ass, which all fall under the Equidae family. The split between Przewalski's horse species and the ancestors of domestic horses happened somewhere between 120,000 and 240,000 years ago.

2. Przewalski's Horses Are Named After Colonel Nikolai Przewalski

Explorer Colonel Nikolai Przewalski (pronounced shuh-VAL-skee) rediscovered the species for Western science 1878. He obtained a skin and skull of a Przewalski's horse, and it ended up being examined and named a new species. However, the first sighting by a European occurred centuries earlier, when Johann Schiltberger recorded his sighting in the early 1400s during a trip to Mongolia while a prisoner of the Turks. Previous records include rock and tool engravings as far back as 20,000 BCE and a written account of the horses from the Tibetan monk Bodowa around 900 CE.

3. The Przewalski's Horse Nearly Disappeared Into Extinction

A 12-year-old mare named Ieda with her new foal are in the pasture at the Highland Wildlife Park in 2013 in Kingussie, Scotland. The foal was the first newborn Przewalski's horse at the park in five years. Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

Exceptionally few captive Przewalski horses succeeded through the 1950s, and the last sighting of a wild individual occurred in 1969. The species was listed as extinct from the wild in the 1960s until reintroduction programs began. Currently, about 400 horses are living in the wild, with an adult population of 178 horses. The species' status has improved from extinct in the wild, followed by critically endangered, to a still precarious endangered.

4. All the Przewalski's Horses Alive Today Are Descended From 12 Przewalski Horses

Captive breeding has increased the species' numbers from a low of 12 to today's count approaching 1,900 individuals. Zoologist Dr. Erna Mohr created the first pedigree book in 1959, and a detailed studbook has been kept and updated ever since to minimize inbreeding and thus maximize genetic diversity.

5. The First Cloned Przewalski's Horse Was Born in August 2020

Scott Stine / Timber Creek Veterinary / San Diego Zoo

Despite the careful captive breeding programs, a significant threat to the species today is a loss of genetic diversity and disease.

In August 2020, officials at the San Diego zoo announced the birth of Kurt, the first cloned Przewalski's foal. His cell line came from cryopreserved DNA from a stallion that died in 1998. Researchers hope that the foal will add valuable genetic diversity once it reaches adulthood.

In 2013, the National Zoo welcomed the first Przewalski's horse born through artificial insemination. This success represented an exciting breakthrough in preserving the species, and the possibility of increasing genetic diversity without having to transport horses among captive breeding facilities.

7. Przewalski's Horses Have 66 Chromosomes

The 66 chromosome of a Przewalski's horse is two more than the 64 of domestic horses. If a P-horse and domestic horse breed and produce an offspring, it has 65 chromosomes. Surprisingly, that offspring is fertile, unlike most crossbreeds, like mules. If they interbreed with a donkey, the offspring is not fruitful.

8. Stallions Have a Harem

Dieter Hopf / Getty Images

Like feral domestic horses, Przewalski's horses live in small family groups comprised of a stallion and his harem of three to five mares and foals, and bachelor groups of males who have yet to form (or have lost) their harems. Bachelor horses fight fiercely for the right to mate and have a harem. They stay in sight of the rest of their herd at all times and communicate through many vocalizations, ear twitches, and scent marking.

7. Przewalski's Horses Turn Their Back to Storms

Ganbayar Urtnasan / Getty Images

Przewalski's horses grow thick, warm coats for the winter, complete with long beards and neck hair. Winter coats are essential in the harsh winter desert, where temperatures can be freezing. In high winds, Przewalski's horses turn their back to the storm and tuck their tail tightly between their back legs! This adaptation protects the eyes and nostrils while also protecting the sensitive reproductive parts from the severe winds and sand storms of the Gobi Desert.

8. They Are Making Good Use of Chernobyl

Anton Petrus / Getty Images

The four largest reserves where captive Przewalski's horses roam are in Le Villaret, France; Buchara, Uzbekistan; the Hortobágy-National Park, Hungary; and the Chernobyl exclusion zone, Ukraine. The horses released in the exclusion zone thrived. In 2019, researchers from the University of Georgia used motion-activated cameras to capture more than 11,000 images of the horses using abandoned dwellings in the zone as shelter. Their study, published in the journal Mammal Research, suggests the horses use the buildings for sleeping, breeding, and as a refuge.

10. Przewalski's Horse Has Many Names

Most people know the species as the Przewalski's horse or P-Horse, it goes by several other names: Asian wild horse, Mongolian wild horse, Dzungarian, and Takh (Takhi is the plural). Takhi means spirit or holy horses in Mongolian. Legends surround the animals in their homelands, from message carriers to gods to Genghis Khan and his army riding them in a quest to conquer the world.