Return of the Yema
BY MELISSA SONGER Habitat Mapping Geotechnology Helps Reintroduce Endangered Wild Horses T he Przewalski's horse represents the last true wild horse left on planet Earth. Although there are horses that roam free in the American West and other regions, they all descend from horses that were once domesticated and later became feral. Although they were able to resist domestication, the Przewalski's horses couldn't withstand other pressures from human activities and went extinct from the wild throughout their range during the 1960s. For decades, zoos supported the only surviving Przewalski's horse populations, thus saving the species from dying out completely. The horses once ranged across the vast steppes, grasslands and deserts of Mongolia, into China, Kazakhstan and possibly beyond. For centuries, the Przewalski's horses shared their habitats with pastoral nomadic societies. Due to their elusive nature, Przewalski's horses weren't scientifically described until near the end of the 19th century, when they were named for a Polish naturalist, Nikolai Przewalski, who went to Central Asia to investigate rumors of the wild horses. Przewalski's horses differ in appearance from their domestic cousins, with a shorter and stockier build, SUZAN MURRA Y G E O W O R L D / J U L Y 2 O O 9 20