The San Francisco Zoo unveiled its latest additions recently— a pair of critically endangered Przewalski's horses, a species once pronounced extinct in the wild. The arrival of these horses is a direct result of persistent conservation efforts, as these animals are considered the last truly wild horses, originally from the Mongolian steppes of the Gobi Desert, per the San Francisco Zoo.

Although deemed extinct in 1969, thanks to the tireless work of conservationists, accredited zoos, and captive breeding programs, the population count of Przewalski's horses has rebounded to approximately 2,000. Some will live in reintroduction sites and nature preserves, according to Patch. The current event marks the San Francisco Zoo's onboarding of two mares from the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago.

The Przewalski's horse, pronounced as SHUL-VAAL-SKEE, was named after a Russian explorer who discovered the species during a Mongolian expedition conducted in the 19th century, as per Patch. The recovery of the horse population can be largely granted to the 12 original founder animals which had been meticulously bred. However, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Zoo, Nancy Chan, indicated the diminishing genetic diversity in this horse species— a pressing issue that revolving conservation efforts aim to tackle.

Committing to their conservation cause, Przewalski's horses will be housed in the newly built Asian Conservation Zone, at the San Francisco Zoo. Alongside them, the zone will also be home to a myriad of Asian flora, landscape features, and other endangered organisms including Komodo dragons, monkeys, and snow leopards. The objective behind such an ecosystem is to heighten awareness and to augment efforts for conservation.