The Przewalski horse: a story of how an extinct species was reborn
In the Hustai Mountains National Park , in the center of Mongolia , inhabits one of the rarest horse species in the world. Its about Przewalski's horse , one of the few subspecies of wild horses whose line of descent is one of the most direct to the first horses that inhabited the Earth.
Its description is also unique: absolutely all the specimens they are light brown , with the end of the black legs , the hair also black , and the white snout.
observe these herds of horses in their habitat , grazing on freedom as they have done for hundreds of thousands of years, from the Pleistocene , is an experience that is only possible in this Mongolian park. At the same time, it is an almost miraculous experience, because It is a species that has disappeared and its rebirth is a great example of the work of conservationists.
Herds of Przewalski horses
Despite Mongolia is one of the wildest countries in the world , where industrialization has hardly made a dent in the fauna, the herds of domestic animals of the nomadic shepherds caused, in their competition for grass, that this species was seen more and more cornered . This, along with large-scale hunting (in Mongolia horse meat is eaten as the most normal thing in the world) led to the fact that in 1967 It was the last time the species was sighted in the wild.
However, the audacity of the Russian general Nikolai Przewalsky , from whom his name comes, indirectly saved the species. Przewalski, who was a great fan of nature, first came across the species at the end of the 19th century.
Later, they started expeditions to capture the species to transfer it to zoos in Europe . In fact, a population of these horses abandoned in a zoo in the former USSR **currently roams wild around Chernobyl**.
Przewalski horses are named after Nikolai Przewalski
After their complete disappearance from the plains and mountains of Mongolia, conservationists took specimens that had bred in these zoos to reintroduce them to Hustai . His adaptation was immediate. Over the years, they reproduced in freedom and they live, at the moment, without the threat of extinction.
Visit Hustai It is not like going on a safari where you will see hundreds of animals of all kinds at all times. To enter Hustai is to explore a unspoiled mountainous landscape in which you will feel completely alone with the animals, in the middle of a eerie silence Y away from the hordes of tourists who fight to take the best photo.
The way to visit it, like almost everything in Mongolia, is with a own vehicle or with a driver hired in the capital . The park guides, depending on availability, will accompany you without charging you a penny. It's more, it is totally recommended to go with a guide so as not to waste time wandering around in a place where it is easy to get lost, get into complicated paths and where fauna does not always appear on the main paths. In addition to seeing horses, with a guide you can see other species such as ibexes.
You will only find one hotel in Hustai National Park
At the entrance you have to pay a symbolic amount as an aid for the maintenance of the Park. There is also a shop there with all kinds of objects related to this nice equine species and a good hotel with restaurant , at very high prices compared to the rest of Mongolia. It's the only place to sleep since, unlike the rest of the country, you cannot camp as it is an extremely protected environment and for good reason.
Es Parque is just one hour from Ulaanbaatar , so it may even be one day trip , or a stop on the way back or on the way to one of the great circuits around the country.