tarpan

Everyday

The tarpan was a wild horse that lived in Europe and western Asia, including the steppes of Ukraine and Russia; it is now extinct. The last known tarpan died in a zoo in Russia in 1909. tree →

In the lessons

In science and history lessons the tarpan is an example of extinction caused by humans: hunting, farming and mixing with farm horses. Grey-brown, with a dark stripe down its back, it was small and sturdy. Today some breeds, such as the Polish Konik, are said to look like it, and some people have bred "tarpan-like" horses, but the real tarpan is gone. Phrases: "the extinct tarpan", "wild tarpan".

Examples

• The tarpan was a wild horse of Europe. tree →
• Tarpans once ran across the steppes of southern Ukraine. tree →
• The last tarpan died in 1909. tree →
• Hunting and farming helped make the tarpan extinct. tree →
• Konik ponies look a bit like the tarpan. tree →
• The tarpan had a dark stripe down its back. tree →
• We read about the tarpan in our lesson on extinct animals. tree →

Note

Countable: a tarpan, tarpans. Probably from a Turkic language word. Do not confuse with "tarpaulin" (a waterproof sheet) or Przewalski's horse, a different wild horse that still lives in Mongolia.