Przewalski's Horse Breeding Center

　　The Przewalski's Horse Breeding Center is located in Laotai, about 40 kilometers northwest of Jimusaer County.

　　The Przewalski's horse, also known as Przewalski’s horse or Mongolian wild horse, originally inhabited Mongolia and China’s Junggar Basin, but true wild populations no longer exist.

　　Between 1985, 1986, and 1988, China introduced 16 purebred Przewalski's horses from Germany and the UK, establishing this breeding center. There are now over 150 horses spanning three generations, managed through a combination of enclosed stabling and semi-wild grazing.

　　The Przewalski's horse belongs to the order Perissodactyla, family Equidae, with a shoulder height of 124–140 cm, body length of around 2 meters, and weight of about 300 kg. These horses generally have large heads and short necks, with light brownish-gray coats, slightly lighter-colored bellies and legs, black hooves and tail manes, and a grayish-white ring around the hind lower legs. Their manes stand upright, and they feature a black dorsal stripe running from the back to the tail. Compared to domestic horses, their main differences include shorter, upright mane and forelock without long flowing hair, smaller overall size, and more uniform coat color. Przewalski's horses live 25–30 years, with mares remaining fertile for up to 15 years.

　　The horses at the breeding center are primarily fed alfalfa, straw, and corn stalks, supplemented with corn, bran, and barley. Feeding is done on a fixed schedule and quantity—six times per day—with each horse consuming 8–10 kg of roughage daily. Concentrated feed is strictly controlled at 2.4 kg per horse per day according to expert formulation. In winter, each horse is given an additional 1–2 kg of carrots, and in summer, 5 kg of watermelon. Stallions in Phase 0 are given 2–4 eggs daily.

　　The breeding center is located in the eastern part of the Junggar Basin, within a temperate desert zone. The surface vegetation mainly consists of Nitraria, Suaeda, and Tamarix, with flat terrain. The areas west and north of the center currently belong to the Beisantai oilfield region of the Eastern Junggar Oilfield. This region has historically been a habitat for wild horses, but human activity and hunting led to their extinction. One of the goals of the breeding center is to restore this area as a habitat for Przewalski's horses.

　　Currently, the center employs over ten staff members dedicated to managing and researching the horses. The enclosure covers an area of approximately 2 square kilometers. Facilities built at the center include stables, enclosures, feed storage, hay barns, and staff residences. The horse population has grown from 16 to over 150, with the highest survival rate of any breeding program in the world. Some first-generation horses born here have transitioned from small enclosures to semi-wild grazing. In recent years, in addition to nearly a hundred experts and scholars from the US, Germany, Japan, and other countries visiting the center for research, many domestic groups and individuals also come to tour the facility every year. The strong and graceful presence of the Przewalski's horses leaves a deep impression on every visitor.