Wild Horses
from Prehistory
PHOTO EXHIBITION
This unique photo exhibition about the only true wild horse, the Przewalski horse was first opened in the Budapest Zoo. Ancient wild horses, displayed on prehistoric cave paintings, came close to extinction in the last century, but thanks to the conservational effort of zoos, today they
can roam wild and free again. One of the largest populations in the world lives in a reserve in Hortobágy (Hungary), where they share this steppe habitat, unchanged from the ice age, with rare bird and plant species. The photographers, Attila Korbely and Katalin Ozogány, working for the Eötvös University of Budapest, make behavioural observations, nature photography and shoot a nature film in this reserve for three years.
The uniqueness of the exhibition is that most of the pictures are shot by RED Digital Cinema Cameras, movie cameras used by famous Hollywood productions. These cameras are able to shoot in high resolution and 120 frame/secundum. The resulting images are smooth and dynamic at the same time.
The pictures are printed on artistic matte Giclée paper, its deep and bright aquarelle colours perfectly enhance the dream-like secret moments of the wild horses.
THE PRZEWALSKI HORSE
The Przewalski horse (Equus ferus przewalskii) is the only real wild horse that survived to our days. In spite of the american mustang and other feral horses, they ancestors were never domesticated and ridden. Przewalski horses are the last wild descendants of the ancient horses depicted on prehistoric cave paintings that once inhabited the Eurasian steppes. It was supposed to be extinct until 1881, when the last population was found in the Mongolian highlands. Hundred years later it became extinct in the wild, only 12 pure-bred individuals remained captive in zoos. Thanks to the international conservation efforts and reintroduction programs the population today is grown to 1700 individuals, around 400 of them roaming wild in Mongolian highlands.
The Pentezug Wild Horse Reserve was founded in 1997 by the Hortobágy National Park (Hungary) and the Kölner Zoo as the part of the conservation program. It aims beside increasing the number of wild horses, to study their natural behaviour and to treat ecologically this vulnerable habitat. The herd is grown to 300 individuals from that time, being today the second largest population in the world, regularly returning several horses to the wild. The conservation status of the Przewalski horse according to IUCN is still endangered.
FUNDING
