Help us name our newest little herd member!

The last wild horse? What’s that?

These endangered horses are incredibly rare in the wild and reintroduction programs are currently underway in Mongolia, where the horse was first discovered. Smaller than your average domesticated horse, p-horses have a stockier and shorter build than other horses. Despite looking similar to the everyday horse, p-horses are genetically different with 66 chromosomes, compared to 64 that domestic horses have. Though their historic distribution is not fully known, evidence suggests that the p-horses once roamed widely across the steppes of central Asia. P-horses were once Extinct-in-the-Wild, but thanks to reintroductions happening in Mongolia, over 500 p-horses are now free ranging.  

Challenges still exist for the p-horses, with wild populations still facing low genetic diversity. Thankfully, accredited zoos around the world have herds that contribute to the international Species Survival Plan (SSP) for the p-horses, including our herd here at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo. The goal of an SSP is to maintain and breed individuals under human care in order to maintain genetic diversity with the hopes of contributing these genes to a wild population.  

Galloping into the world

The birth of this foal is an exciting new contribution to the SPP! The foal was born to some very seasoned parents, “Molly” and “Victor” at our Wildlife Conservation Centre. The 5-week-old foal has been seen nursing, sunbathing, and exploring all areas of the pasture. 

Ready to cast your vote? Select your favourite name below that you think will be a good match for the little p-horse. After you’ve made your selection, be sure to sign up for our upcoming Wilder Institute newsletter, Second Nature, which will be launching this summer. Don’t forget to scroll to the very bottom and click ‘Done’ for your vote to be registered.