The first wild horse species to be born using artificial insemination has been announced by scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia.
Human development has had a negative impact on many species but some of our innovations can benefit the animal kingdom as well.
The first wild Przewalski horse to be born using artificial insemination has been announced by scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia.
The female Przewalski foal was born July 27th, and is the result of a promising step forward for the endangered species.
There are only around 15 hundred Przewalski horses living in zoos and conservation facilities worldwide, which were bred from a stock of only 14 horses.
After being declared extinct in the wild in 1969, conservationists released some back into their natural habitat with radio collars and Geographic Information Systems to track their movements.
There are now less than 500 Przewalski horses living in the wild in Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan.
Przewalski horses are believed to be the last wild horse species on the planet.
Using artificial insemination helps to expand the population because it means that for genetically diverse horses to breed they don’t have to be in the same location.
Moving the animals is a costly, dangerous process so it is safer to breed them using this technique.
