Minn. Zoo Introduces 2 Asian Wild Horse Foals
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Two Asian wild horse foals – a male and female – will make their public debut at the Minnesota Zoo Thursday.
The first foal, the female, was born on July 17. The male foal was born July 20. Both weighed approximately 60 pounds at birth.
Starting Thursday at 1:30 p.m., they can be seen on exhibit with their mothers on the Northern Trail, located across from the seasonal Africa! exhibit. They will be on exhibit daily from 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The Asian wild horses, also known as "takhi," disappeared entirely from the wild in the 1960s. Since then, the Minnesota Zoo and other zoos have helped breed the horses. More than 40 foals have been born at the Zoo since its opening in 1978.
Minnesota Zoo staff also manages the Species Survival Plan, which coordinates breeding and transfer recommendations for the 23 institutions in North America that exhibit Asian wild horses.
While they are still rare, the takhi is slowly returning from the brink of extinction, the Zoo said. The horse's status has been upgraded from Critically Endangered to Endangered by the International Union of Conservation and Nature.
