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âFerrari in a junkyardâ: Mules sold at auction are rare, endangered horses
The horses, which scientists say are endangered Przewalskiâs, surfaced at rescues in Colorado and Utah.
By Kelsey Baker
August 9, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. EDT
Hannah Huckabay regularly combs livestock auctions online for horses she can rehabilitate and train at her Colorado ranch. But when she saw a video in February of a mule for sale in Kansas, she could hardly believe what she was seeing.
The stocky animalâs short black mane shot straight up like a mohawk, and its white belly stood out against its tan coat. As it nervously paced in its corral, Huckabay said it bore a striking resemblance to Przewalskiâs horse, a critically endangered species sheâd learned about while studying equine science.
âI was like, âThere is no way. That is not a mule,ââ Huckabay recalled thinking. âThatâs a purebred Przewalski.â
Such a find would be incredibly rare. Once extinct in the wild, around 2,500 Przewalskiâs horses remained worldwide as of 2022. Theyâre native to Mongolia and in June, seven were reintroduced to nearby Kazakhstan as part of an effort to return them to their natural habitats. They are the only truly wild horse remaining (mustangs are feral horses).
But scientists say Huckabayâs hunch appears to be correct. Hair samples from the animal Huckabay purchased â along with a second horse recently surrendered at a Utah sanctuary â were sent to Texas A&M Universityâs animal genetics lab. Both appear to be Przewalskiâs horses, said Rytis Juras, the genetics labâs director who tested both samples.
The hair test looks for genetic markers associated with different horse breeds to determine an animalâs likely ancestry. Unequivocally confirming that the horses are purebred Przewalskiâs and not hybrids would require advanced blood tests that are expensive and would mean sedating the equines.
The blood tests look at the number of chromosomes in a horseâs cells â 66 in a purebred Przewalski, versus 64 in a common horse or 62 in a donkey. An even more advanced version could sequence the horseâs entire genome.
But Juras and two other scientists who reviewed the findings said the hair-test results are reliable.
âIf I would have gotten it from a zoo ⌠that would be one thing,â Juras said of receiving the samples. But two random tests with Przewalskiâs results were âsurprising and a little bit disturbing,â he said. âThis is weird.â
How the horse Huckabay found â and the second in Utah â ended up in livestock auctions is a mystery, said Christopher Faulk, a professor of animal science at the University of Minnesota who has studied Przewalskiâs horse genetics and also reviewed the DNA results.
âSomeone had to have known what they were, they donât just appear out of anywhere,â Faulk told The Post. âEspecially to have been disposed of in that way is even weirder,â he said, since livestock that arenât purchased at auction can end up in slaughterhouses.
âThatâs like finding a Ferrari in a junkyard,â he added.
Huckabay bought the animal for $1,375 in February and, after three weeks in quarantine, the ragged and underweight animal sold as a mule arrived at her ranch outside Denver.
Seeing its features in-person left her even more convinced it was a Przewalskiâs horse, she said. Her daughter said the horse, with its large clunky head and stiff black mane, was so ugly that he was cute, Huckabay recalled. They named him Shrek, after DreamWorksâs beloved ogre.
After almost two months of helping Shrek acclimate, Huckabayâs daughter stumbled upon a video posted on June 9 from a sanctuary in Utah.
âDid we just have a Przewalski mare surrendered?!â the caption read.
Kelsey and Gunnar Bjorklund â who own the Lazy B Equine Rescue and Sanctuary in Utah â suspected their mare was also a Przewalski. But they had no idea there was a second possible Przewalski, saved from another auction.
The Bjorklundsâ horse was brought to their facility after being purchased for $35 in January at an auction in Utah, where she was advertised as a mule.
âIt takes more money to get your nails done,â Kelsey said, adding that her previous owner decided to surrender the mare after she flunked out of a professional training program.
When the horse arrived and was unloaded from the trailer, âwe were just in shock,â Gunnar said. It was clear the animal wasnât a mule or a mustang, he said.
âAnyone getting possible Przewalski vibes!?â the Bjorklunds posted. âA true wild, endangered species of equineâźď¸ How cool would that be!â
In response to seeing the Bjorklundsâ viral video, Huckabayâs daughter posted her own videos of Shrek two days later. One got over 11 million views.
After coming across Shrekâs video, it was easy for the Bjorklunds to settle on a name for their mystery horse â Fiona, the princess-heroine from the Shrek movies.
The rescuers were stunned that two possible Przewalskiâs horses could have surfaced almost simultaneously. The Endangered Species Act allows private ownership of endangered animals, but only with a permit, and under strict stipulations. The law prohibits the possession of illegally obtained endangered animals or their transport across state lines without permits.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declined to comment on whether officials are investigating the horsesâ chain of custody.
Some livestock auctions have occasionally served as hubs for illicit trade in exotic animal species.
Because most Przewalskiâs horses descend from only about a dozen surviving individuals, scientists closely manage breeding genetics for diversity. Compared to the feral mustang, Przewalskiâs are more resilient, said Dolores Reed, a biologist who helps oversee a small herd of the endangered horses at the Smithsonianâs National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Przewalskiâs horses are built for the Mongolian steppeâs harsh climate, she said, adding, âtheyâre very tough,â and can be unpredictable.
There are about 100 Przewalskiâs horses in U.S. zoos, Reed said.
Shrek and Fiona are adjusting to their new environments, their owners said. After keeping his distance from people and trotting in circles in his pen while stressed, Shrek has relaxed and moved to a larger field. He has bonded with two gentle mares and while he wonât accept treats from peopleâs hands, he loves when apples and carrots are left in his feed bucket, Huckabay said.
âHeâs very piggy,â she said.
In Utah, Fiona has put on weight and made friends with a miniature mule and a quarter horse filly at the Bjorklundsâ sanctuary.
The rescuers wonder what wouldâve happened if Shrek and Fiona hadnât been saved. The endangered animals mightâve been sent to slaughter âand nobody would have known about it,â Gunnar said.
Huckabay and the Bjorklunds plan to care for the horses as long as needed, but said theyâd prefer to see their rescued Przewalskiâs move to a professional conservation program.
Shrek is happy on the ranch, but Huckabay said sheâd rather see him with âa herd of his own.â
âThat would be the best-case scenario,â she said.
