Image horses pulling

Image horses pulling







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Photographer :The Old Man

Przewalski's Horse

True Wild Life | Przewalski's Horse | The Przewalski's Horse is the only remaining wild horse still surviving in the world. Once, it became extinct because it was hunted or it lost in the feeding frenzy with farm animals. Przewalski's Horse is a rare and endangered subspecies of wild horse  native to the steppes of central Asia, specifically China and Mongolia. At one time extinct in the wild, it has been reintroduced to its native habitat in Mongolia at the Khustain Nuruu National Park, Takhin Tal Nature Reserve and Khomiin Tal.

In the wild, Przewalski's Horses live in social groups consisting of a dominant stallion, a dominant lead mare, other mares, and their offspring. The patterns of their daily lives exhibit horse behavior similar to that of feral horse herds. Each group has a well-defined home range; within the range, the herd travels between three and six miles a day, spending time grazing, drinking, using salt licks and dozing. At night, the herd clusters and sleeps for about four hours. Ranges of different herds may overlap without conflict, as the stallions are more protective of their mares than their territory.

With a short, muscular body, Przewalski’s horses are smaller than most domesticated horses. They have a pale belly and beige to reddish-brown coat that is short during summer and thicker and longer in winter. Their muzzle is white, and they don an erect and dark mane that lines their large head and neck. They stand about 12 to 14 hands tall at the shoulder, or about 48 to 56 inches (122 to 142 centimeters), and weigh about 440 to 750 pounds (200 to 340 kilograms). While extant in the wild, these horses ate grasses and other vegetation on the steppe, shrublands, and plains of western Mongolia and northern China.

In the 1960s, Przewalski's Horses disappeared once. They were hunted for their meat and hide. Others lost in the feeding frenzy with farm horses. In the 1990s, a project started to return Przewalski's Horses to the wild. Zoos in Europe raised Przewalski's Horses and returned them to wildlife sanctuaries in hometown, Mongolia, and the number of Przewalski's Horses in the wild is starting to increase, little by little.

Mountain Zebra

 

True Wild Life | Mountain Zebra | The Mountain Zebra is an endangered species of equid native to south-western Angola, Namibia and South Africa. It has two subspecies, the Cape Mountain Zebra  and Hartmann's Mountain Zebra, though it has been suggested these should be considered separate species. Like all zebras, it is boldly striped in black and white and no two individuals look exactly alike. The stripe can be black and white or dark brown and white. Their stripes cover their whole bodies except for their bellies. The Mountain zebra also has a dewlap.

As its name suggests, the Mountain Zebra lives in higher places than other zebras. Its numbers are decreasing because of hunting for its skin and meat, and also because of droughts. Mountain Zebras are found on mountain slopes, open grasslands, woodlands and areas with sufficient vegetation. Some Mountain Zebras live in the rainforest. Mountain zebras live in hot, dry, rocky, mountainous and hilly habitats. They prefer slopes and plateaus and can be found as high as 1,000 metres above sea level, although they do migrate lower in the winter season. Their diet consists of tufted grass, bark, leaves, buds, fruit and roots. They often dig for ground water.

Mountain zebra are most active in the early morning and late afternoon. They spend up to half of the daylight hours feeding. Mountain zebra live in herds consisting of one adult male (stallion), one to five adult females (mares) and their young. The stallion is the dominant member of the herd. Sometimes herds come together to form temporary groups of up to 30 individuals. Mountain zebra never form the large herds characteristic of Plains zebra, however, they do exhibit a harem-type social system. During the winter they move up to 20 kilometres from a water source. Where they are in danger of being hunted, Mountain zebra water at night, however, when they are not in danger of being hunted, they water at any time.

The Mountain zebras form small family groups consisting of a single stallion, one, two, or several mares, and their recent offspring. Bachelor males live in separate groups and attempt to abduct young mares and are opposed by the stallion. Mountain zebra groups do not aggregate into large herds like Plains zebras. Mares may give birth to one foal every twelve months. Like other equids, zebra foals are able to stand, walk and suckle shortly after they are born. The mare nurses the foal for up to a year, and the young zebra then leave to join bachelor groups or harems.

The Mountain Zebra lives in higher places than any other zebra. It lives in two different locations in southwestern Africa and South Africa. The biggest threat to Mountain Zebras is hunting by people. These animals have long been hunted for their beautifully patterned skins and meat. The Mountain Zebras that live in South Africa have nearly been wiped out twice in the past.

Grevy's Zebra

True Wild Life | Grevy's Zebra | The Grevy's zebra , also known as the Imperial zebra, is the largest extant wild equid and one of three species of zebra, the other two being the plains zebra and the mountain zebra. The Grevy's zebra is found in Kenya and Ethiopia. Compared with other zebras, it is tall, has large ears, and its stripes are narrower. It is more ass-like in appearance as compared to other zebras, which are more horse-like. Among their kinds who were hunted for their hides, Grevy's Zebra is the largest kind of zebra. The Grevy's Zebra's pattern is like a painting, so it is called the most beautiful of zebras. However, its beauty is its sadness, because it is hunted for its hide. Its numbers keep becoming lower and lower.

Grevy's zebras grow up to nine feet long, weigh up to 990 pounds, and stand up to almost five and a half feet at the shoulder. On average, males are about ten percent larger than females. Big heads, large and rounded ears, and thick, erect manes make the Grevy's zebra appear more mule-like than other zebras. In fact, many experts consider Grevy's zebras to be striped asses that are not closely related to other zebras. Their coats sport dazzling narrow stripes that wrap around each other in a concentric pattern and are bisected by a black stripe running down the spine. Grevy's Zebra is hunted for its beautiful hide and so it has had a shocking drop in numbers.

Males are highly territorial, claiming prime watering and grazing areas with piles of dung called middens. They generally live alone in their territories, except when females move through during mating season. Non-territorial males travel together in groups of two to six animals. This social system differs from that of other zebras, which typically form female harems that live in one male's territory all year. During dry months, many Grevy's zebras migrate to greener mountain pastures, but males on prime territories often remain there year-round. Grevy's zebras inhabit semi-desert areas, including arid grasslands and dusty acacia savannas. The most suitable areas have water year-round.

Normally only one foal is born to a female after a gestation period of thirteen months. Most of the babies are born between May and August. The young zebra has brown stripes and a mane which stretches from the shoulder to the tail. The background colour of the foal's coat is light brown instead of white. This protective colouring helps the foal to "freeze" and blend instantly with its background. The foal can stand on its feet within one hour of its birth and can run with the herd after only a few hours - this gives it a much better chance of escaping from predators, usually lions. Young males leave the herd when they are about two years old and join bachelor herds. Eventually they will collect mares to form their own new herds or perhaps challenge old or weak stallions and take over their herd.

Today, the surviving wild Grevy's Zebras are protected in national parks. The Grevy's Zebra has other things to worry about. Domesticated animals are growing in number, and the grass that the zebra eats has been taken away. Its living space is also disappearing because people are building. Experts speculate there are only around 1,900 to 2,500 wild Grevey's Zebras left.

Asian Wild Ass

 

True Wild Life | Asian Wild Ass | The Asian Wild Ass was once considered to be among the largest population of ungulates, along with horses, cows, camels, and deer. Herds of 1,000 or more Asian Wild Asses have often been observed in Central and West Asia. Like many other large grazing animals, the asian wild ass' range has contracted greatly under the pressures of hunting and habitat loss, and of the six subspecies, one is extinct and two are endangered. The kiang , a Tibetan relative, was previously considered to be a subspecies of the asian wild ass as E. hemionus kiang, but recent molecular studies indicate that it is a distinct species. 

Asian Wild Ass are a little larger than donkeys at about 290 kilograms  and 2.1 metres , and are a little more horse-like. They are short-legged compared to horses, and their coloring varies depending on the season. They are generally reddish-brown in color during the summer, becoming yellowish-brown in the winter months. They have a black stripe bordered in white that extends down the middle of the back. They are notoriously untameable.

The Asian Wild Ass lives in the grasslands and deserts of Central and West Asia.Most people associate a donkey with a slow moving animal, but the Asian Wild Ass is one of the fastest running asses in the horse family. They can run 70 kilometers or more per hour in short spurts.

Today, the Asian Wild Ass is on the brink of extinction. This is partially due to the expansion of grazing land. Livestock animals have taken over their grassland and watering areas. But it is also because of an expansion of farmlands which has shrunk their habitat and forced them to separate. No longer is it possible to see herds of 1,000 asses. Conservation efforts have helped them recover their population in some areas, but as a whole, the Asian Wild Ass is still an endangered species.

African Wild Ass

True Wild Life | African Wild Ass | The African Wild Ass is a wild member of the horse family, Equidae. This species is believed to be the ancestor of the domestic donkey which is usually placed within the same species. They live in the deserts and other arid areas of northeastern Africa, in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia; it formerly had a wider range north and west into Sudan, Egypt and Libya. About 570 individuals exist in the wild. The African Wild Ass is suited for life in the desert, capable of going on for up to three days without drinking water.

African wild asses are well suited to life in a desert or semidesert environment. They have tough digestive systems, which can break down desert vegetation and extract moisture from food efficiently. They can also go without water for a fairly long time. Their large ears give them an excellent sense of hearing and help in cooling. Because of the sparse vegetation in their environment wild asses live somewhat separated from each other (except for mothers and young), unlike the tightly grouped herds of wild horses. They have very loud voices, which can be heard for over 3 km, which helps them to keep in contact with other asses over the wide spaces of the desert.

The African Wild asses can run swiftly, almost as fast as a horse. However, unlike most hoofed mammals, their tendency is to not flee right away from a potentially dangerous situation, but to investigate first before deciding what to do. When they need to, they can defend themselves with kicks from both their front and hind legs. The African Wild Ass eats plant material, often eating thorn bushes and tougher plants that other animals ignore. They need to have water at least every three days, but they are able to survive on water that is dirty and brackish and can get a lot of their moisture from the plant material that they eat.

Sexual maturity of the female ass usually happens by the time she reaches two. Males can also reproduce at two, but it is so competitive that they usually are forced to wait until they are around four. Males are very territorial and will often hold a huge territory that is about 23 km, and they mark the edges of their territories with dung. Other males are allowed in, but they are kept away from the females as much as possible. Male donkeys will bray when the females are in season, and a dominant male of a territory has first right to breed with any female that comes around. The gestational period usually lasts 11-12 months, and the females in the wild usually give birth only once every two years. The young are weaned at about six months of age, and the animals can live approximately 40 years.

In addition to their struggle with domesticated livestock to secure food and water, the African Wild Ass also became a hunted animal for consumption and medicine. Many dangerous weapons found their way into the homeland of the African Wild Ass due to the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. There is a concern that these weapons will be used more often from now on to hunt more of the African Wild Ass. Currently, there is a protection program in progress to move the African Wild Ass into a protected area of Israel.

Zorse

True Wild Life | Zorse | The zorse is a cross between a zebra stallion and a domestic mare. It is also possible to use a zebra mare and a domestic stallion, but owners of valuable zebra mares don't want to waste a year of their breeding life producing a hybrid when they could be producing a zebra foal instead. The crosses were originally done in England and Africa to try to produce a domestic horselike animal that was resistant to diseases spread by the tse tse fly in Africa. Zebras have natural resistance, where domestic donkeys and horses do not. The experimental crosses were actually becoming popular until early in the 20th century when the auto displaced the horse and mule. At that point cross-breeding was largely abandoned. A revival of interest came in the early 1990s, with just about every breed of domestic horse imaginable being tried.

A zorse generally inherits the striping pattern and some of the conformation of the zebra sire with the size, colouration, and temperament of the domestic mare. Coarse bad tempered pony mares produce coarse bad tempered zonies. Mares of quality, especially Quarter horses and American Paint horses, produce some very beautiful zorses that have a good working attitude. If the mare has a pattern, such as pinto spotting or Appy spots, the zorse often will also. You only see the striping pattern on the pigmented areas, never on the white areas. Breeders avoid using gray mares because the zorse can inherit the graying gene and lose all his stripes in a few years! You can still see the stripes on the skin.

Like mules, zorses are born anatomically normal males or females. They exhibit normal breeding behaviour. But like mules they are sterile. Males should be gelded as early as a few months old to prevent dangerous studdy behaviour. A breeder in KY keeps two zorse mares in the pasture with his Paint stallion to keep him company. He has bred them both hundreds of times over the years but no offspring have ever resulted.

Zorses tend to be very hardy and live into their 30s with good care. Their temperaments are generally similar to those of their mothers, but like the zebra they do have a strong flight response. Because of this it's best for a first time hybrid owner to get a zedonk instead. When a zedonk startles he freezes up like a donkey rather than bolt blindly like a horse or zebra.

Mule

True Wild Life | Mule | A mule is the result of the mating of a male donkey (jack) and a female horse (mare) to produce a hybrid. The much rarer hinny is the result of mating a female donkey (jennet) with a male horse (stallion) although the hinny is much harder to produce than the mule. The jennet's reproductive system is more efficient at detecting and eliminating foreign DNA than the mare's is. The hinny conception rate is lower and the miscarriage rate is higher. It really isn't possible to distinguish a mule from a hinny by appearance. Mules are anatomically normal and show normal breeding behavior unless gelded (castrated) early in life.

Mules are sterile due to an uneven chromosome count. There are have been a very few rare cases since the 1500s where female mules have been known to produce a foal when mated to a stallion or jack. Males are completely sterile, and as an old muleman said,"Ain't nothing meaner than a stud mule!" Mules are commonly found around the world in any area where there are donkeys and horses inhabiting the same environment. Mules have been bred by humans for use as riding and pack animals, and for ploughing or any work one does with horses.

The mule's body type and temperament depend on the breed of mare and jack used. Huge draft mules are created by breeding draft horses such as Belgians to Mammoth jacks. They have the size and power of the draft horse with the mule's ability to tolerate heat and less feed. Racing mules are produced using Throughbred mares, and trail mules are often produced from Quarter horses, Paint horses, and Appaloosas. Mules come in any horse or donkey color or combination of both. A mule is easily distinguished from a donkey by looking at the tail. A mule's tail is haired all the way to the top like a horse's tail; a donkey's tail has a tuft on the end like a cow. They compete successfully with horses in all venues including dressage.

The mule has the patience, endurance, sure footedness, sense, and drought tolerance of the donkey, combined with the size, speed, strength and courage of the horse. Operators of working animals generally find mules preferable to horses as mules have harder skin that is less sensitive than that of horses, meaning that mules can deal with climate extremes such as strong sun and rain more easily. They require less food and water than a horse of the same size. The mules hooves are harder than horses hooves, and both the mule and the mules hooves show a natural resistance to disease and insects.

Horse

True Wild Life | Horse | Horses evolved over 50 million years from small many toed animals to the big beautiful, single-toed horses of today. The modern horse has been domesticated around the world for many reasons including transportation and battle. Horses tend to live for about 30 years, and the oldest recorded horse at age 56 died in 2007. Horses graze on plant matter and vegetation, preferably tender green grass. The height of a horse is measured in hands, 1 hand being the same as 10cm (4 inches). The age of the horse is estimated by the pattern of tooth wear in his mouth.

An adult female is called a mare, and a young female is called a filly. An adult male is a stallion, and a young male is a colt. An unweaned baby of either sex is a foal. Castrated males and spayed females are called geldings. Mares carry their young inside them for approximately 11 months. When the baby horse is born, the young horse is often able to stand and then run about not long after birth. A mare comes into season one month after her foal is born. If she is remated then, she will have a foal at the same time each year. The horses' hoofs are made out of horn which comes in different colors, with black being most common. Horses with white feet often have white hoofs, which are more brittle than pigmented ones. Appaloosa horses often have striped hoofs consisting of both pigmented and white hoof material.

There are thought to be more than 300 different breeds of horse found around the world today, each being bred for a purpose. Enormous draft horses such as Clydesdales pull heavy wagons, lighter saddle horses are for riding, and pony breeds are suitable for children and small adults. Miniature horses (30" and under) are primarily pets, though some have been used to guide blind people.

Horses have remarkable hearing and are almost able to have 360 degree hearing. The sense of smell of the horse is better than that of a human but the horse tends to rely more on vision than smell. Their field of monocular vision is almost 360 degrees with a narrower field of binocular vision in front and slightly to the sides. Horses have a blind spot directly in front of the nose and directly behind them. For this reason it is better to approach from the side. Whether they can see color is inconclusive. They do have much better night vision than humans.

Horses have an advanced sense of taste which allows the horse to sort through grasses and grains to find the things that the horse would most like to eat. Horses generally will not eat plants that are poisonous, but when the horse cannot find more adequate food, the horse will eat plants that contain toxins. A horse's gut is designed to have food flowing through it almost continually, and horses graze most of the day if allowed.