Przewalski's Horse (Equus ferus przewalskii) Fact Sheet: Behavior & Ecology

Shelter behavior

• Observed at night during winter and dawn/dusk during summer (Schlichting et al. 2020)
  • May also provide some refuge from biting flies

Fly avoidance

• Observed to shift habitat use and increase comforting behaviors when flies are abundant (King and Gurnell 2010)
  • Reduced horses' feeding time

Research studies

• 24-hours study at National Zoo harem at Front Royal in 1988
  • Activity budget
    • <46% feeding
    • .5% drinking
    • 20.5% standing
    • 16% stand-resting
    • 2% self-grooming
    • 2% mutual grooming
    • 7% locomotion
    • 1% playing
    • 5% recumbency
  • Feeding peaked at night (68% between 2000-2400)
  • Recumbency peaked at night (most from 0000-0400)
• Kaleta et al. (2017) observed behavior of a small herd at Warsaw Zoo
  • Most common behaviors
    • Feeding
    • Locomotory
    • Resting
    • Comfort-seeking behaviors

Few studies in the wild

• Hustai National Park: 120-2,400 ha (King and Gurnell 2005)
• Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area: 150-825 km² (Kaczensky et al. 2008).

Aggression

• Snapping, champing, tooth-clapping – usually employed by young animals
• When threatening or being threatened, ears are flattened against the skull with teeth exposed
• Bite with ears back, neck extended
• Kick with hind legs
• Chase
• Herding (snaking) – usually by stallion to drive mares.
  • Head and neck may be moved in snake-like manner.
• 2 stallions prance next to each other with necks arched

• Dominant stallions within a herd will become aggressive with young males when reach approximately 2 years of age
  • Young males then leave their natal harem group
• May compete for valued resources, such as saltlicks (Gashchak and Paskevych 2019) or valued foods in managed care (Zharkikh and Andersen 2009)
• Left eye/side agonistic and vigilance behavior bias observed by Austin and Rogers (2014) in a reserve-living herd in France
  • More pronounced in males and immature individuals

Movements

• Collective movements
  • Start and stop movements together (Bourjade et al. 2009)
    • No one, consistent leader
      • Respond to behavior of departing individual(s)
    • Conflicts in group decision making tend to arise when changing activities or habitat areas
• Dispersal
  • Females observed to disperse from natal group to new group formed by unfamiliar male (Tatin et al. 2009)

Herd dynamics

• Bachelor male groups in managed care (findings from Zharkikh and Andersen 2009)
  • Spend time in close proximity to one another
    • Rarely observed singly
  • Larger herds form subgroups
    • Friendly behaviors indicate social bonding
    • Tolerant of juveniles of other subgroups

Visual and tactile communication

• Mutual grooming
  • Partners stand in reverse parallel position
  • Teeth are used to gently bite each others coat
• Wild stallions subdue mares with ‘lightening’ bites to crest and occasionally legs
  • May chase and then turn and kick with hind legs
  • Can then control with a ‘glance’
• When extremely angry (and prepared to fight), stallion lowers head until it almost touches the ground
  • Then circles mares or another stallion
• When threatening or being threatened, ears are flattened against the skull, teeth exposed
• In groups that have been part of reintroduction efforts, dominant stallions in harem groups take on leadership role, defending the herd against intruders and predators, and herding mares.

Vocalizations

• Neigh
  • Indicates expectancy of food, water, another horse, etc.
• Snort
  • Frustration, fear, nostril cleaning
  • Can be an ‘alarm call’
• Grunting ‘laugh'
  • Given in encounters with aggression, by either the instigator or recipient
  • Used by stallion in courtship
  • Sometimes punctuated with sharp squeal
• Nicker
  • Given in care-seeking or care-offering situation
  • Given when seeking social interaction (Maigrot et al. 2017)
  • Less commonly given when expecting food (Maigrot et al. 2017)
• Squeal
  • Given during agonistic interactions (Maigrot et al. 2017)
  • Also given if in pain and during sexual behavior (Maigrot et al. 2017)
• Whinny
  • Given in a variety of situations (Maigrot et al. 2017)
  • Most commonly given during social separation (Maigrot et al. 2017)
  • Given when expecting food (Maigrot et al. 2017)
  • Sometimes given during agonistic interactions (Maigrot et al. 2017)

Olfactory signals

• Stallions smell urine and feces of mares in their harem groups to determine whether in estrus (flehmen)
• Stallions exhibit marking behaviors (e.g., Zharkikh and Andersen 2009)
  • Create stud piles to indicate territorial possession and harem possession to other stallions in the area
  • Mark with urine

A herd of Pzrewalski's horses at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

Dominant stallions protect herds from predators and intruders.

Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved.

Note on behavior studies

• Behavioral information comes mainly from populations in managed care settings.  Natural behavior of stallions has been compromised.
• Projections of wild population behavior are made by studying feral horses and from limited information on reintroduction efforts.
• Ethogram is published in Boyd & Houpt p. 196-208

Bouman (1986)
Boyd (1988)
Boyd & Houpt (1994)
Kaczensky et al. (2008)
King and Gurnell (2005)
Mohr (1971)