China's Przewalski's horse population tops 900, a third of global total

The population of Przewalski's horses in China has surpassed 900, accounting for one-third of the global total, according to officials.

The details were announced at a recent event in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, marking 40 years since the species was reintroduced to China. The growth in the horse's population in China has been internationally recognized as a successful model for species reintroduction.

Przewalski's horse, the world's only remaining wild horse species, boasts an evolutionary history spanning over 60 million years.

Native to the Junggar Basin in Xinjiang and parts of Mongolia, the species is listed as a national first-class protected animal in China and remains endangered globally.

In 1985, China launched a program to reintroduce Przewalski's horses from overseas and established breeding bases in Xinjiang and northwest China's Gansu Province.

Through years of scientific conservation efforts, including habitat restoration, the population has seen steady growth.

"According to our incomplete statistics, the vegetation coverage increased from 8.2 percent in 2022 to 9.41 percent by the end of 2024, thus providing ample food for wild animals and aiding in their reproduction and improving their quality of life," said Li Jicai, an official of the management center of a local natural reserve.

The Xinjiang Wild Horse Breeding and Research Center, the largest breeding center for Przewalski's horse in Asia, has bred over 800 such horses to date and released 146 of them into the wild across 18 separate batches.

China's Przewalski's horse population tops 900, a third of global total

Even under assumptions that the U.S.-Israel war on Iran does not persist past April and that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz gradually resumes, the world will face the pressure of rising oil prices throughout this year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday.

In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook released on Tuesday, the EIA raised the forecast of Brent crude oil spot price for 2026 to 96 U.S. dollars per barrel from the previous forecast of 79 U.S. dollars a barrel.

Retail gasoline and diesel prices will continue the rising trend this year, said the outlook.

The outlook maintains a risk premium on crude oil prices throughout the forecast period, as the EIA expects uncertainty around future supply disruptions to keep prices above pre-conflict levels.

"Once flows through the Strait of Hormuz resume, we assume it will take time to resolve the backlog and disruption to oil tanker routes and trade flows and that the potential for future disruptions will remain at risk and create a premium in the oil price," it said.

US Energy Information Administration forecasts rising oil prices throughout 2026