The first project subsidised by the Werner Stamm Foundation for the Preservation of Rare Equids was for the benefit of the Przewalski's horse (Equus ferus przewalskii), a species that became extinct in the wild in the 1960s. At the beginning of the 1970s, the first wild equids came to our newly built enclosures in Oberwil from various zoos.

Twenty-five years later, when the Werner Stamm Foundation was included in the EEP, the European Programme for Preservation Breeding, as well as the international SSP, the Species Survival Plan, it became possible to reintroduce some Przewalski's horses to the wild - from the breeding station in Oberwil to places as far away as Mongolia. Owing to combined efforts, a sufficiently large and stable worldwide zoo population of the Przewalski's horse had been established; this allowed taking some animals out of the group and reintroducing them to their original habitat.

The Werner Stamm Foundation is still significantly involved in the resettlement project in the Mongolian Gobi - contributing financially, with personnel, as well as with the placement and donation of valuable wild equids bred in Oberwil.

The foundation’s involvement is owed to the extraordinary commitment of both the founder, Dorothee Stamm-Bachmann, as well as the former president of the board, Dr. Jean-Pierre Siegfried. Great credit is also due to the founder of the Christian Oswald Foundation, Christian Oswald himself, who helped clear the way for the Przewalski's horse's resettlement in the Gobi with his excellent networking and financial engagement.

Thus, an exemplary project of resettlement of an extinct species was established, one that is well on its way to becoming a model of successful international co-operation (www.savethewildhorse.org).

This first successful project serves the Werner Stamm Foundation both as a model, as well as an incentive for further projects for the benefit of endangered equids.