War Forces Zoo To Scrap Sending Wild Horses To Russia

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Zoo has scrapped plans to send a group of Asian wild horses back to their native Russia in light of the war in Ukraine.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Wednesday that eight of the endangered horses, known as takhis or Przewalksi’s horses, were supposed to return to a nature reserve in Russia this fall following delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zoo officials say they can’t afford to take care of the horses any longer and are looking for options, including shipping the horses to another zoo in North America.

The horses once roamed much of Europe and Asia but lost habitat to farming. Only about 500 are left in the wild, said Seth Stapleton, the Minnesota Zoo’s conservation director.