A mare Przewalski's horse and its foal. (Photo/CGTN)
Two foals were born at a wild horse breeding center in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, with more expected this year, according to experts from the breeding center on Monday.
The birth of two female Przewalski's horses on Friday brought the total number at the research center to 363, said Zhang Hefan, a researcher at the center.
Out of the 363 wild horses, there are currently 173 horses living in the wild within the 2,000 hectares of the center, the largest wild horse breeding center in Asia.
The species is protected on a national level, and with 60 million years of evolution history, they are dubbed "living fossils." The endangered species is even rarer than giant pandas.
Przewalski's horses are smaller than most domesticated horses with a pale belly and a brownish coat. With an average lifespan of 20 years, mares are usually 11 to 12 months when they become pregnant with their foals.
According to Zhang Yanbao, a staff member on duty at the breeding center, who remembered seeing a female horse standing at a dark corner of the center, he recalled having to zoom in closely and realized the female horse giving birth already had half of a foal out of her body.
Zhang realized that horses are sensitive to human interference while giving birth, so Zhang quietly walked away and just observed in the dark. Several minutes later, the foal arrived safely.
He did not expect to see another foal arrive the same night at 4:00 a.m. local time, as he saw the second stumbling pony, which made him even more excited.
This is the first time that the breeding center had newborns this year. Besides the two just born, more than 10 horses are expected to be born, according to Ma Xinping, director of the breeding center.
