Once driven to extinction around the 1960s by habitat loss and overhunting, Przewalski's horse only survived in captivity. The species could be considered extinct in the wild, as all populations are carefully managed in national parks and nature reserves, and are descendants of captive breeding programs that have been reintroduced to the wild. However, Przewalski's horse has been re-categorized as an endangered species in 2011 as a result of these reintroduction efforts, and the population continues to be closely monitored to maximize reproduction and minimize inbreeding. Przewalski's horses live in cohesive herds, which are composed of several harems. In a harem there is one mature stallion, several females and their young offspring. ![]() Young males that have not yet gained their own harem or old males who have lost their harem live in 'bachelor herds'. When a young female Przewalski's horse reaches sexual maturity, she is either 'won' by a stallion or voluntarily leaves her natal group to join a stallion's harem. ![]() She will stay with the harem of the first stallion she mates with. Stallions acquire several females over their life, growing their harems until no longer fit to defend them. Old stallions who lost their harem may join bachelor herds. Mares are pregnant for 11 to 12 months, after which they give birth to a single foal. Foal mortality in wild Przewalski's horses is 25%, where 85% of those deaths are caused by unrelated stallions trying to bring the female back into oestrus. Mares are able to mate and conceive again 7 days after birth. Foals exclusively feed off their mother's milk for the first month of their life, and then begin eating solid food. Weaning takes place between 8 and 13 months of age, usually complete upon the birth of a new foal. Przewalski's horses reach sexual maturity at 2 years old but females are unlikely to mate until 3 years old, and males will not actively try to form their own harem until 5 years old. ![]() Female foals remain with their natal harem until they are acquired by a different stallion, while male foals tend to leave their natal groups between 1 to 2 years old, when the bond with their mothers weaken.
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