El Paso Zoo gets endangered pony for the holidays
The holidays came early at the El Paso Zoo with the arrival of Brianna, the Zoo’s first female Przewalski’s horse.
Brianna arrived on Tuesday, and will soon join Vitalis, the Zoo’s male Przewalski’s horse. They will become the Zoo’s first breeding pair of these endangered horses.
Muscular and stocky with light brown bodies and bristly black manes, Przewalski’s horses are the only wild, undomesticated horse remaining in the world. Their name, pronounced “shuh-VAL-skee” comes from Nikolai Przewalski, the 19th-century explorer who is credited with their discovery.
“In the 1960s, Przewalski’s horse were extinct in the wild,” says Zoo Director Steve Marshall. “We are proud to join the important ongoing effort to preserve these magnificent creatures and reintroduce them to their natural habitats.”
Brianna came to the El Paso Zoo from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia. Born at the Bronx Zoo, she is eight years old and weighs approximately 775 pounds. The transfer comes as a recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), whose Species Survival Plan® (SSP) works to conserve species such as the Przewalski’s horse through breeding and transfer plans.
“Now that Brianna has arrived at the Zoo, she will go through a 30-40 day quarantine period,” says Zoo Veterinarian Dr. Misty Garcia. “We just want to make sure she is healthy and has some quiet time to adjust to her new surroundings. So far she is doing very well.”
