Scientists brought a wild horse back from extinction. But is it truly the same animal?
The reintroduction of takhi horses to the Mongolian steppes, where they had roamed for millennia before going extinct in the wild in the 1960s, is often thought of as a great accomplishment of the animal conservation movement. However, as this brief animated history of the takhi from TED-Ed explains, a closer look at the story raises some complex questions about the meaning of conservation, the role of zoos and the best way to keep wild animal populations thriving. For instance: can a population of animals descended from captive breeding programmes, and closely watched and controlled to ensure their perpetuation, truly be considered wild? And, in the instance of the takhi, can these newly released horses even be considered the same animal?
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