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A tan Przewalski's horse with an upright dark mane standing on a grassy steppe.
Photo: Claudia Feh, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Przewalski's Horse

Equus ferus przewalskii

The last truly wild horse, a stocky dun-colored horse of Mongolia that was extinct in the wild and has been brought back.

🦓 Hoofed Mammals
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About the Przewalski's Horse

Przewalski's horses stand 4.3 to 5 feet tall at the shoulder and weigh 550 to 800 pounds. They are tan (dun) with a dark mane that stands straight up, a dark stripe down the back and zebra-like stripes behind the knees. They graze on grass and leaves from shrubby trees. Groups have several mares, a dominant stallion and their young.[2]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Equus ferus przewalskii[2]
Size
4.3 to 5 feet tall at the withers; 7.25 to 8.5 feet long.[2]
Weight
550 to 800 pounds.[2]
Lifespan
Up to 36 years.[2]
Diet
Herbivore. Grass and leaves from shrubby trees.[2]
Habitat
Steppes and desert grasslands.[2]
Where it lives
Reintroduction sites in Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan.[2]
Group life
Groups of several mares, a dominant stallion and their offspring.[2]
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN Red List, assessed 2014).[3]

Fun facts

  • Przewalski's horse is the last truly wild horse; it was never domesticated.[1]
  • In Mongolia it's called "takhi," meaning spirit.[1]
  • All of today's Przewalski's horses descend from just 14 founders.[2]

Vocabulary

dun
A sandy or tan coat color, often with darker legs and mane.
mane
Long hair growing on an animal's neck.
steppe
A large, dry, treeless grassland.
founder
One of the first animals a population descends from.
reintroduce
To return a species to a place where it used to live.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] San Francisco Zoo & Gardens. “Przewalski's Horse.” https://www.sfzoo.org/przewalskis-horse/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. “Przewalski's horse.” https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/przewalskis-horse (accessed 2026-10-02)
  3. [3] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Equus ferus (Przewalski's Horse).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/41763/97204950 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

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