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The Konik is a small Polish horse, a kind of wild pony. (The word is a diminutive that may be translated as "horsie".) As it is genetically very close to the extinct tarpan, the original European wild horse, it has been introduced into many nature reserves in the Netherlands such as the Oostvaardersplassen. Along with deer, the wisent and the Heck Cattle, the konik are big grazers. They keep the landscape open, and when kept without supplemental winter feeding a more natural forest evolves. Koniks have also been introduced in Latvia and the United Kingdom because of the success of such programs. Koniks have been introduced into the Wicken Fen near Cambridge by the National Trust. |
