San Diego Zoo

San Diego Zoo Safari Park welcomes birth of critically endangered pony

The unnamed pony at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

The San Diego Zoo Safari Park Thursday announced the birth of a young Przewalski's horse, a critically endangered species previously considered extinct in the wild until 1996.

The unnamed horse was born this month to its mother Nikki and father Ziggy, according to the San Diego Wildlife Alliance in a news release.

The parental horses were recommended by the Association of Zoo and Aquariums' Przewalski's Horse Species Survival Plan, which conservationists across the United States oversee to ensure healthy and genetically diverse populations.

Sometimes known as "the last wild horse," the Przewalski's horse has survived for 40 years almost entirely in zoos around the world, according to the Wildlife Alliance, a nonprofit international conservation organization.

Przewalski's horses have been reintroduced into their native habitats, resulting in several herds in grasslands in China and Mongolia.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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