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Translated by: Latra Gashi
- July 8, 2024 08:56
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Scientists in Hungary are using drones to study the complex society of wild horses. They follow the movements of each of the 300 individuals of the endangered Przewalski's horse herd that live in the fields, away from human interaction.
Earlier they were extinct in nature. However, thanks to breeding programs, there are now around 2000 Przewalski horses roaming free again.
A herd of 278 horses lives in Hortobágy National Park in Hungary.
Researchers from Eötvös Loránd University and Debrecen University are using the air to better understand the social systems of these animals.
They are using two types of drones: one that flies over the herds and one that approaches them in order to identify the animals individually.
"The scientific study of Przewalski horses is very interesting. They have a hierarchy, the whole herd moves together and within herds there are groups, and within groups there are family ties and then individuals. And we wanted to understand the system", emphasized Máté Nagy, researcher from Eötvös Loránd University.
Researchers say a few minutes of aerial footage can provide enough information to learn about social structure and draw conclusions about past and future group dynamics.
With the help of aerial images, they have been able to find that wild horses live in complex and multi-segmented societies.
Although earlier certain groups of horses stayed in their territories and rarely interacted. However, in recent years, the groups have come together to form a larger herd, moving together across the territory.
Researchers have found that group individuals coordinate their movements and get along through subtle interactions.
The multi-level social structure shown by these wild horses is rare in the animal world.
The analysis has shown that the social relations of wild horses are related to kinship and previous acquaintances.
"We already knew that Przewalski horses live in groups and that these groups synchronize their behavior. But we did not know that their society is so complex", said Katalin Ozogány, researcher from the University of Debrecen.
In the wild, the Przewalski's horse in 2008 has gone from "very endangered" to "extinct". Three years later their status was again changed to "endangered".
The Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) still categorizes the species as "endangered".
Despite the success of the breeding program, the lack of genetic variety in this small, scattered pony means they are still vulnerable.
