Keepers are delighted by the safe arrival of a female Takhi (Przewalski’s Horse) foal that was born on 28 June 2019 at Taronga Western Plains Zoo.

The filly was born overnight and found in the night yards doing well by mum’s side when the keepers arrived to work. The filly has been named Tuya meaning ‘ray of light’ in Mongolian.

This is the fifth foal for experienced mother Genghis who was sired by stallion, Nikolai. There is now six foals in the Takhi herd at Taronga Western Plains Zoo with the herd now growing to 18 in total. 

“Genghis is a very protective mother especially around the other adults, always putting herself between them and her foal. Khan her previous foal who is now over one year old is also often seen with Genghis and her foal,” said Keeper, Brooke Bishop.

“Whilst Genghis is quite protective, we often observe both herself and Tuya in and amongst the herd at feeding time, socialising with everyone.”

“Tuya is quite playful with the other foals in the herd and tries to run around with them. She can’t keep up with them for long periods yet so will go back to be by mum’s side,” said Brooke.

“It’s so lovely to see the herd with varying ages of foals in the group. It is a real sight to see them all galloping out of the night yard to the exhibit in the morning.”

“A great time to see the foal as well as the rest of the Takhi herd is in the morning when the foal is most active and they are enjoying their morning hay on exhibit,” said Brooke.

Takhi are today classified as endangered, but were once extinct in the wild. Prior to reintroduction programs in the early 1990s, Takhi were last seen in the wild in the Gobi Desert, in south Mongolia. Their numbers dwindled as a result of human interference such as poaching and capture. Today, their main threats are habitat loss and low genetic diversity.