KHUSTAI NATIONAL PARK, WHERE PRZEWALSKI HORSES FIRST RETURNED TO MONGOLIA
Among all the treasures that Mongolia has to offer to its local population and travelers, there is one unique thing not that far away from Ulaanbaatar that you don’t want to miss. I'm talking about the famous Przewalski horses, also known as the takhi. Famous for being the very last species of wild horses on Earth, they nearly became extinct over the ages, but nowadays, you can observe them in the wild at Khustai National Park.
I was lucky enough to see them in the middle of the day, but local residents say that it's better to look for them at dawn or dusk, as this is the time of the day when they come down from the mountains to drink from water sources.
WHAT TO EXPECT AT KHUSTAI
NATIONAL PARK
Located 100 kilometers southwest of Ulaanbaatar, going there is an easy ride on paved road until you reach the entrance to the park. From there on, be ready to get shaken like a rag doll, as a typically Mongolian bumpy path replaces the paved road. Being driven by a local guide in Khustai makes your trip easier, as the driver will know where you have the best chances of spotting takhi.
As we passed the entrance of the national park, I soon noticed a ranger on top of a mountain. “They are here to watch the park, the animals, and make sure no one hunts them,” said my guide. The ranger was wearing a traditional deel, which would make any foreigner worry about him getting cold. Khustai National Park is 1,843 meters above sea level, high in the mountains, and is very windy.
The creation of this specially protected area dates back to 1993. It covers approximately 500 square kilometers, and as of now, the park is home to 459 species of plants, 44 species of mammals, and 217 species of birds. Among them are emblematic Mongolian species, like the takhi, but also gazelle and marmots, golden eagles, and many more. But seeing the wild horses is a gift, considering they almost became extinct in the last century.
THE TAKHI'S DECLINE
Some takhi are said to have migrated all the way to Europe 20,000 years ago (or, at least, some closely related species), as prehistoric Europeans depicted them in cave paintings such as the ones found in Lascaux Cave, in Southern France. Wild horses had long ago disappeared from European territories, when, in 1881, the Russian colonel and geographer Nikolai Przewalski learned they still existed in Mongolia. The news spread quickly, and soon, Europeans started hunting them and bringing them to European zoos as trophies. By the 1960s, the takhi population had reduced dramatically. The last wild herd was sighted in 1967, and a herder in western Mongolia spotted the very last horse in 1969. After that day, no one ever saw one of these horses again, and scientists declared the species extinct in the wild.
Nevertheless, a dozen takhi still lived in captivity in Europe, and in 1977, a Dutch association called the Foundation for the Preservation and Protection of the Przewalski Horse was founded in order to reintroduce them to Mongolia. The challenge was huge, but based on this small captive population, they managed to create a whole herd and teach them how to live in the wild again. The first of these takhi were brought to Khustai in 1992. Since then, horses have also been reintroduced to Takhiin Tal and Khomyn Tal, and there are approximately 400 takhi now living throughout Mongolia. They are closely monitored to prevent inbreeding and mixing with domesticated horses. A lot of takhi still remain in Europe, as European countries have stopped reintroducing them (mostly for financial reasons), but many have been reintroduced to living in the wild in protected areas, such as in Southern France, at Le Villaret in Cevennes National Park.
The story of the takhi should make one realize how the beauty of nature can be ephemeral, and how human actions can be both devastating and salutary. After hunting the takhi to near extinction, Mongolians and foreigners joined forces to save the species and insure their reintroduction to the wild. Now, anyone can enjoy them, whether you want to take a short trip to Khustai to observe the takhi, or volunteer at the park to help with the research and monitoring of the horses.