SAN DIEGO—The San Diego Zoo Safari Park announced the birth of a young Przewalski’s horse on June 29, a critically endangered species previously considered extinct in the wild until 1996.

The unnamed horse was born this month to its mother Nikki and father Ziggy, according to the San Diego Wildlife Alliance in a news release.

The parental horses were recommended by the Association of Zoo and Aquariums’ Przewalski’s Horse Species Survival Plan, which conservationists across the United States oversee to ensure healthy and genetically diverse populations.

Sometimes known as “the last wild horse,” the Przewalski’s horse has survived for 40 years almost entirely in zoos around the world, according to the Wildlife Alliance, a nonprofit international conservation organization.

Przewalski’s horses have been reintroduced into their native habitats, resulting in several herds in grasslands in China and Mongolia.

Photo of young Przewalski's horse born at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in San Diego, on June 29, 2023. (Courtesy of San Diego Zoo)