Back from the brink: Return of the world's last wild horses

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A group of Przewalski's horses in northwest China's Gansu Province. /VCG

A Przewalski's horse in the wild in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. /CMG

Przewalski's horses standing on the grassland in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. /CMG

A close-up shot of a Przewalski's horse in northwest China's Gansu Province. /CMG

Przewalski's horse, often described as a "living fossil," has an evolutionary history stretching back over 60 million years and is the only surviving wild horse species on Earth. Native to the arid desert steppe regions of the Junggar Basin in northwest China and neighboring areas of Mongolia, the species became extinct in the wild before conservation efforts began.

In 1985, China launched a "Wild Horse Return" program to reintroduce Przewalski's horses from overseas, establishing breeding bases in Xinjiang and Gansu in the country's northwest. Through decades of scientific conservation, including habitat restoration and step-by-step rewilding efforts, the population has steadily grown.

As of 2025, China's Przewalski's horse population has surpassed 900, accounting for one-third of the global total. This significant recovery is internationally recognized as a successful model of endangered species reintroduction and highlights China's progress in biodiversity conservation and the advancement of ecological civilization.

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