On 16 August 2021, Monica Vasile published a blog post for NiCHE, the Network in Canadian History & Environment, titled “Incest at the Zoo: Saving and (in)Breeding the Przewalski’s Horse.”

Incest is more common than one would expect amongst zoo-bred animals, or at least it was. Especially with endangered species, inbreeding was a common practice up until the 1970s, despite awareness of its risks and consequences. Why did the casual mating of siblings occur and how did the practice become a newsworthy shocking mistake at a later point? In this piece, Monica Vasile discusses the case of the Przewalski’s horse—considered the last species of wild horse, one of the best documented and longest captive-breeding stories in the world—and trace how practices and ideas related to inbreeding have evolved.

You can read the full post here: https://niche-canada.org/2021/08/16/incest-at-the-zoo-saving-and-inbreeding-the-przewalskis-horse/.