Takhi

• It is the only truly wild horse in the world, never successfully domesticated.
• It died out in the wild in 1969, surviving only in captivity.
• It was successfully reintroduced to Mongolia from the 1990s.
• Every horse alive today descends from just 12 animals taken from the wild, after the species died out entirely in the late 1960s.
• It has been successfully reintroduced to the steppes of Mongolia since the 1990s.
• It eats grasses and steppe vegetation.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)

Habitat & environment

Steppe and semi-desert of Mongolia and northern China, reintroduced after dying out in the wild in 1969

Birth weight

Roughly 27-32 kg (about 60-70 lb)

Size at birth

Able to stand and walk an hour after birth

Sexual maturity

Female: 3-4 years | Male: 4-5 years

Gestation / incubation

11-12 months (320-350 days)

Litter / clutch size

1 young per birth

Lifespan in captivity

Documented record of up to 25-40 years in captivity

Sources consulted: Animalia.bio; DinoAnimals; About Animals; DesertUSA; Animal Diversity Web; National Geographic; Animal Fact Guide; The Animal Facts; PMC; SDZWA Library Fact Sheet

Best time: From June to September at Hustai and Khomiin Tal, in Mongolia, when the weather allows access and the herds graze in the open.