This 'n That Thursdays: The Last Remaining Wild Horses Are Not Truly Wild After All

From Smithsonian.com

Recently some sad news was revealed for those of us who specialized in equine studies.  Przewalski's horse (Equus ferus przewalski), an equine species thought to be the only truly wild horse still in existence, turns out to be feral (a domesticated species which has returned to the wild).  Recent genetic testing has shown that the horses currently roaming free on the Mongolian steppes are not the wild ancestors of Asia's domestic horses, but are instead the result of domestic horses escaping captivity thousands of years ago and establishing themselves in the wild, much as the American mustang has done quite a bit more recently.

Also known as the Mongolian or Asian wild horse (or takhi to the Mongolians), the Przewalski's horse was named after Russian explorer Nikolay Prehzvalsky, the first known European to describe it (Prehzvalsky was an outspoken racist, BTW, and not worthy of having anything named after him, in my opinion).  Once considered to be a separate species, the Przewalski's horse is now classified as a subspecies of wild horse (Equus ferus).  Two other subspecies are recognized, the domesticated horse (Equus ferus caballus) and the tarpan or European wild horse (Equus ferus ferus), both of which are now extinct in the wild.  The domesticated horse has successfully adapted as feral in many locations, while several attempts have been made to recreate the physical characteristics of the tarpan by selective breeding.

From Yalakom

As the Przewalski's horse was long assumed to be the wild ancestor of modern domestic horses in Asia, much effort has been directed to its preservation, including captive breeding programs around the world and the release of these captive-bred animals into Mongolia.  It is for this reason that the latest study on Przewalski's horse genetics is such an unfortunate revelation.  According to the published article, the modern day Przewalski's horse is descended from horses domesticated by the Botai people of northern Kazakhstan about 5,500 years ago, which means that they are feral rather than truly wild.  However, they have been feral for thousands of years, which was enough time for them to significantly diverge genetically from current domestic horses of the region.

Should efforts continue to protect their free-roaming populations?  This is a questions that will probably be debated by scientists as well as the government and people of Mongolia in the near future.  These equids are perhaps even more a symbol of their country's history than the feral mustangs here in the United States, which are protected for now by the controversial Wild and Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971 and managed by the even more controversial efforts under the Bureau of Land Management's Wild Horse and Burro Program.  We will have to wait and see what ultimate decision will be made about the fate of Mongolia's wild/feral horses.

From Daily Mail