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The return of Mongolia's "wild" horses - Nigel Rothfels

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TEDEd Animation

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For thousands of years, native Takhi horses roamed the steppes of Central Asia. But by the late 1960s, their extinction seemed inevitable. To prevent this, scientists and zoos started a breeding program and soon began releasing new generations of Asia's ancient wild horse back into their native habitat. Nigel Rothfels explains the twists and turns of this complicated conservation effort.

Although a variety of animals, including the California Condor, the Black-Footed Ferret, and the Takhi, have been restored to protected areas through captive breeding, do you think zoos should devote their conservation efforts to protecting only a few particularly popular species? Would it be better for them to focus instead on reducing their own environmental impacts and helping to protect critical habitats that benefit whole ecosystems?

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Meet The Creators

  • Educator Nigel Rothfels
  • Director Anna Benner
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
  • Music Raphael Tschernuth
  • Sound Designer Raphael Tschernuth
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Senior Producer Anna Bechtol
  • Associate Producer Sazia Afrin
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Senior Editorial Producer Dan Kwartler
  • Script Editor Soraya Field Fiorio
  • Fact-Checker Charles Wallace

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