Return of the Przewalski’s Horse - Mongolia

This is a postcard issued by Prague's Zoo, which has been having an important role on the preservation and reintroduction of the Przewalski’s Horse to their original homeland. The zoo organized several transports of these horses to different areas of Mongolia. 

Partnering with the Czech Army, the zoo transported four horses to Mongolia each year between 2011 and 2013 – 11 mares and one stallion in total. They were taken to the Khomyn Tal reserve and the Gobi B national park, where, following acclimation, they joined the wild herds. The success of the endeavor can be judged by the fact that only a year after their arrival, some of the mares were already raising their own foals. - in: http://www.zoopraha.cz/en/animals/we-help-them-to-survive/projects/7678-return-of-the-przewalski-s-horse-to-mongolia

Foto: Petr Jan Juračka

Przewalski's horse is a rare and endangered subspecies of wild horse (Equus ferus) native to the steppes of central Asia, specifically Mongolia. At one time extinct in the wild (in Mongolia, the last wild Przewalski's horses had been seen in 1966), it has been reintroduced to its native habitat in Mongolia at the Khustain Nuruu National Park, Takhin Tal Nature Reserve, and Khomiin Tal. The taxonomic position is still debated, and some taxonomists treat Przewalski's horse as a species, Equus przewalskii.

The horse is named after the Russian geographer and explorer Nikolai Przhevalsky.

Most "wild" horses today, such as the American Mustang or the Australian Brumby, are actually feral horses descended from domesticated animals that escaped and adapted to life in the wild. In contrast, Przewalski's horse has never been domesticated and remains a truly wild animal today. - in: wikipédia

UNESCO WHS from Mongolia

These are my 1st cards from Mongolia and both are Unesco sites!

The 1st card was sent from Germany by Claus and it shows the Erdene Zuu Monastery, part of the World Heritage Site entitled Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape and Galina sent me the 2nd card, yurts on the Tes River bank.

© B. Sodbileg

Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape sprawls along the banks of the Orkhon River in Central Mongolia, some 320 km west from the capital Ulaanbaatar. It was inscribed by UNESCO in the World Heritage List as representing evolution of nomadic pastoral traditions spanning more than two millennia.

The Erdene Zuu Monastery is probably the most ancient surviving Buddhist monastery in Mongolia.

Construction of the Erdene Zuu monastery was started in 1585 by Abtai Sain Khan, upon the (second) introduction of Tibetan Buddhism into Mongolia. It is surrounded by a wall featuring 100 stupas.

The monastery was damaged during the warfare with Dzungars in 1688. It was rebuilt in the 18th century and by 1872 had a full 62 temples and up to 1000 monks inside.

In 1939 the Communist leader Khorloogiin Choibalsan had the monastery ruined, as part of a purge that obliterated hundreds of monasteries in Mongolia and killed over ten thousand monks. Three small temples and the external wall with the stupas remained; the temples became museums in 1947.

Erdene Zuu was allowed to exist as a museum only. However, after the fall of Communism in Mongolia in 1990, the monastery was turned over to the lamas and Erdene Zuu again became a place of worship. Today Erdene Zuu remains an active Buddhist monastery as well as a museum that is open to tourists. - in: wikipedia

Photo © Pvel Filatov, 2012

The Tes River is a river in northwestern Mongolia and southern Tuva, Russia. The Tes River is primary source of the Uvs Lake.

The Tes River is 1 of the 5 mongolian areas, part of the Uvs Nuur Basin.

The main feeder to Uvs Nuur is the Tes-Khem River, which has its source in a fresh-water lake, Sangyn Dalai Nuur, in the alpine meadows and larch forests of the Sangilen uplands at the eastern extremity of the basin (in Mongolia). The Tes-Khem then flows 500 km westwards, through steppe and desert, into southern Tuva, and then back into Mongolia, before emptying into Uvs Nuur. For its last 100 km, the river meanders through an extensive wetland complex, a green swathe in an otherwise semi-desert landscape; its delta is some 40 km wide and is an important wildlife habitat. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/769/