GLOBAL CULTURE The Story Of A Colt Named Kurt The 3-year-old Przewalski’s horse is a clone carrying precious genetic material from the past, helping preserve an entire species’ future. By Patti Schofler C onfident and curious, the 3-year-old dun-colored Kurt leads pasturemate Holly across the sparsely covered, hilly terrain, heading towards a pickup truck. Whoosh. The truck driver snaps shut the window, cutting off contact with the approaching animals, the world’s only truly wild horses, Equus ferrus przewalskii . Kurt is exceptional because he is a clone of this endangered species; the horses were once extinct in the wild and with only 12 individuals in zoos worldwide. Kurt was birthed by a surrogate dam in 2020, as the product of ancient and precious cells not found in other remnants of the species. PATTI SCHOFLER PHOTO The 3-year-old Przewalski’s horse Kurt (pictured with pasturemate Holly), a clone, is a crucial genetic link from the past to the present for the species. 54 SPRING 2023 | UNTACKED
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