Tarpans, extinct prehistoric wild horses, are to be reintroduced to Bulgaria's nature at the beginning of September as a part of the Bulgarian – Dutch New Thracian Gold Project.

The first group of 12 tarpans to be reintroduced in Bulgaria will arrive from The Netherlands and will be settled in the southern Krumovgrad region near the Bulgarian-Turkish border. Initially, the animals will live in a fenced area, until they get used to the Eatern Rhodopes environment, the BGNES news agency says.

The Tarpan is a prehistoric wild horse type that ranged from Southern France and Spain east to central Russia. Paleontologists have found out that the species was present in Bulgaria, too. It died out in the wild between 1875 and 1890 Beginning in the 1930s, several attempts have been made to re-create the tarpan through selective breeding.

"The New Thracian Gold", a project of ARK Nature and the Avalon Foundation, was awarded funding from the Dutch National Postcode Lottery Extra draw in 2009. The project has been using this grant since 2009 to develop natural grazing, organic agriculture and ecotourism in the Eastern Rhodopes