UNC Sea Grant a May 1983 cols Photo by Gene Futt

Was the Phantorn real? Sorn etirnes he wor1dercd. S/re had never been captured, and the roundup rrlen did so/22 etirnes tell tall tales. Sonze had said s/re was a dark creature, dark and rnvsterious, l*?_"!,*:""r:f" frees . And so/ne sard s/re was the color of coppet, with sp/as/res of silver in her fi1ane and tail . Photo by NancY Davis These lines from Marguerite Henry's Misty of ChincoteaSue have struck a chord in many a boy or girl who loved the idea of wild roaming free on a wind-swept seacoast island. And for generations the legends of two Maryland and Virginia islands, Chin- coteague and Assateague, have been the stuff of youthful dreaming. Less celebrated, but no less wild and romantic, are the "banker " of North Carolina's barrier \i:.a {-${t\$ islands. From Corolla to Carrot Island, the herds have made the banks their home, grazing the salty marsh grass, struggling to live where only the tough survive. Scientists call them horses, descendants of the small, sure-footed steed of Spanish ' And because of the horses' size, people Down East have for years spoken of the herds with affection as "ponies." Nobody knows exactly how they came to the islands. Did they swim to shore from 16th century Spanish shipwrecks? Did they arrive with an ill-fated Spanish colony, even before the English did? However they first came' we know that one of the first uses of the Outer Banks was for free-range graz- ing, not only for horses but also for cattle, sheep and goats. Islanders sometimes rode the horses, or worked them, or sold them away to small farms on the mainland. Grazing in Shackelford's salt tnarsh The days of the plow are gone' but the horses remain. On Ocracoke, they grow sleek and pretty in And now, after hundreds of years on these islands, their fenced pasture, under the care of park rangers' the future of some of these herds is in doubt, and of- Each year, they draw thousands of tourists' But on ficials face tough decisions about what should be done. Carrot and Shackleford, they roam free, unkempt and This month, Coastwatclr looks at the free-spirited mostly unnoticed, wild as the wind. horses of North Carolina's Outer Banks.

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.-"-.. :/,li*/... 9e;, .,&. ',.'.$ , ..9. ;N*,e, ., n ra*'.. jr;\W.', d-"r a -,t4. 4' 7. & .,; ! 4|a$r.t " -7, ". ab . Ocracoke 's fiorses still bear the features of their Spanlsfi ances/ors Meet the kin: Mr. Bob, Paint and Owen K. Ballance

There's a family, a special breed you But just how these Spanish horses Florses were common along the might say, who has survived, genera- got to Ocracoke is the cause of great Outer Banks during the 1600s. Many tion after generation, on Ocracoke speculation. Spanish fleets, carrying colonists used the islands to not only Isiand. While no one is sure how they cargoes of newly found American graze horses, but to graze sheep, cattle arrived there, it is believed they have riches, often traveled a route which and goats as well, says David Stick, been island residents for over 400 carried them close to Cape Hatteras Outer Banks historian. But for the years. Bringing to Ocracoke a hot- and Ocracoke. Some say one or more of most part the colonists were absentee blooded Arabian ancestry and an in- these ships wrecked, ieaving a small landlords, who did not live on the telligence born of Spanish breeding, herd that survived and flourished. And Outer Banks. It was 1715 before the family adapted to the harsh en- others believe they were ieft by an ex- Ocracoke village, then called Pilot vironment of the banks, weaving their pedition led by Sir Thomas Grenviile, Town, was established. family history intricately into the an Englishman. The horses, often called banker fabric of the island culture and history. In her search for the horses' story, horses or ponies, roamed the island in Ocracoke's first family is not Jeannetta Henning has f ound old herds, says Jim Henning. They ate human, but equine. They're a herd of histories that talk of a Spanish settle- marsh grass and drank fresh water Spanish horses, whose ancestry com- ment in 1526 in the Cape Fear region from holes they dug in the ground. bines the breeds of Arabian, Barb, An- of North Carolina. Jeannetta has Each herd had a boss who led dalusian and Spanish to worked with her husband, Jim, a park the herd in flight and to food, says make a horse coveted for its en- ranger, to care for the horses and has Jeannetta. The boss mare was the first durance, adaptability, strength and spent seven years researching their to eat and the first to drink. Each herd intelligence. heritage. The Spanish histories, based also had a who protected the The Spanish conquistadors brought on the logbooks of exploration and the young, and kept the hundreds of the horses to the voyages, note that 500 people and 80 herd orderly. during the early years of exploration. or 90 horses settled the area in July of The herd stallion was an excellent They took so many of 's prized 1526. According to the logbook, the father to his young, and the colts and stock that the Spanish emperor placed colony failed later the same year. Jean- fillies actually spent more time with a ban on further export of the horses in netta believes the horses were left the stallion than with the mare, says 1520. But by then, breeding farms had behind, and she thinks the herd even- Jeannetta. But when a young male already been set up in Cuba, Puerto tally spread up the Outer Banks. But reached two years of age the head Rico and Santo Domingo to supply the no matter how the horses arrived, they stallion drove the male out of his herd. Spanish with horses. survived, adapted and multiplied. Continued on next page human oriented," she says. "They're highly tuned, sweet-tempered and not "It was the only place I knew where the people were nervous. They'll nuzzle right up to fenced in and the horses allowed to ntn free." you. A lot of the people here on Ocracoke grew up with at least one of Henning the horses in their backyard." -lim The horses took on a new prominence in the 1950s when Boys Life magazine discovered the "It was nature's way of keeping the Howard says. By around noon on the Ocracoke Boy Scout troop was the horses from ," Jeannetta Fourth the men would herd the horses only mounted troop in the country. says. into the village and the pen that Each scout trained and cared for his Many of the Ocracoke villagers once awaited them by the school. own mount. "The national publicity owned one or more of this Spanish "There were a coupla fellas here that stirred a great deal of feeling for the herd. Some of the horses were broken caught the horses with their bare horses here on the island," Jeannetta and trained for riding, plowing and hands," Howard says. "No one says. pulling the carts that delivered grocery believes me when I tell them that. But In 1957, when the highway was built orders every Saturday, says Jeannetta. it's true. My father, Homer Howard, that ran the length of the island, the The Life Saving Service rode them to was one of 'em. They would grab the horses were corralled for the first time. patrol the beach and haul wood horses by their mane, then throw one Until then, villagers had surrounded washed up from shipwrecks. leg in front of the horse's legs so they their yards and homes with wooden Each July Fourth, islanders herded wouldn't get trampled. They'd grab fences to keep the horses out. the horses together, branding colts and their nostrils and hold on until the "It was the only place I knew where picking out some of the older horses for horse was out of wind and could be the people were fenced in and the sale or training. roped." horses allowed to run free," Jim says. Lawton Howard, who grew up on To break the horses, villagers would After the highway was completed, Ocracoke and retired there 16 years fill an old pair of pants with sand and the Boy Scout troop took over care of ago, remembers the pennings that took place it on the horse's , Howard the small herd. The scouts looked after place next to the island's only school. says. Sometimes the islanders the horses until the late 1960s when About 15 men would leave the village blindfolded the horses to keep them the U.S. Park Service took over the late on the night before the Fourth and from kicking and rearing as they broke care because the troop had dwindled ride to the north end of the island, them. Or they stood the horses in and the expenses had become a bur- Howard says. At daybreak the men water, where it was impossible for den. would begin herding the horses them to kick, he says. When the Park Service took over southward. Some of the horses escaped Once broken the horses are a gentle the horses, the herd was on the decline. roundup by swimming into the sound, lot, says Jeannetta. "They're very At one time the herd was as low as nine Photo by Cassr'e GrrTfin horses, Jim says. Jeannetta raised three by bottle to keep them alive, he says. A breeding problem had developed. The remaining stallion and three of the mares were not compatible mates. The result was foals born with a condi- tion called hemolytic anemia. The mare's milk contained antibodies that destroyed the red blood cells in the foals, which died soon after birth. Dr. Thomas Bruce, director of the state's Animal Disease Diagnositic Laboratory in Edenton, says the dis- ease is not uncommon. Bruce says in- breeding contributes to the disease's occurence, but is not the cause. To solve the problem, an Andalusian stallion was brought in for breeding purposes. Since the stallion's arrival three healthy foals have been born, Jim says. While Bruce studied the horses health problems, Dr. William Stabler, a llouston, Miss., veterinarian and an examiner for the Registry, has been studying the horses' Jim Henning chattinS with a neighbor bone structure and their similarity to old Spanish breeds. He says at least 10 Photo courtesy ol Division oi Atchives and History horses in the herd are purebreds. They have five instead of six lumbar ver- tebrae, a distinct characteristic of the Spanish horse. Upon Stabler's recom- mendation, the horses were recognized by the Spanish Mustang Registry. A mixture of circumstances kept the bloodline of the horses pure. The horses tended to reject mates of dif- ferent breeds. And the isolation of Ocracoke made it hard to transport horses on and off the island. Also many islanders took pride in the horses' Spanish breeding and wished to keep '1::& pure, says. the bloodline Stabler t And fate, says Jeannetta, may have added t-o the horses' purity. One wru- mixed-breed herd was killed during a hurricane that struck the island, she says. Others were sold. And several WY horses brought to the island for Cor", r, s';Ati riH T r p ]. breeding died because they could not # 44."[rGer#rtv withstand the swarms of salt-marsh ffi mosquitoes and green-head flies and a diet of tough salt marsh grass. Roundup on the banks "You can tell a Banker as far as you can see it," Jeannetta says. For $enerations, people- "They have a short back. They're mostly f ron Harkers Island short-legged and thick chested. They Iishing families-have Pathered have a proud neck and a long tail and once a year on Shackle[ord mane. It's oniy when you get close to Banks to pen and brand the them that you can see the Barb, the island fiorses. A photo f rorn 1907 Andalusian and the Arabian in their (above), "Catching a wild faces and shapes." pon!," by M.B. Gowdy, cap- The size of the herd has risen back to tures the flavor of fisherrnan- the 21 horses present today. And now turned-. each horse carries a name-Paint, Mr. Early roundups supplied local Bob, Rainbow, La Baronesa, Owen K. Iarrns with plowftorses and Ballance. The herd is kept for the most island families with some in- part in an 168-acre pasture, just off the cofite. Today, the roundups highway that runs between the Hat- continue, but mainly to keep a teras ferry landing and Ocracoke tradition alive. Each July, the village. Observation stands have been herders fan out on constructed by the Park Service for Shackleford's wooded west end, visitors to view horses. driving the horses toward a pen But the islanders still call the horses on the eastern Srassland. their own. "The people here know they For the rest of the year, people have something unique, something as leave the fiorses alone. And foals much a part of Ocracoke as they are," like the one at left, thou{h they says Jeannetta. "A debate rose when fttay wear a brand, spend their the Park Service considered training a lives runninp free on the island. few of the horses for beach control. Several people thought the horses should not be worked. But one Ocracoke o1d-timer spoke up and said, 'Look at it this way folks, I never had the urge to walk up to one of those Parks Service jeeps and pat it on the head.' ''

Hart -Kathy Who'll decide horses' future-nature or man?

A sorrel mare dips her head into novel ways." Shackleford Banks and Carrot Island brackish marsh water to pull up fresh Rubenstein says he has watched may reach carrying capacity in the shoots of sea grass. It's spring and banks horses drink salt water-an f uture. For others, managing the she's survived on tough dune grasses adaptation that would probably in- horses means an end to one of the few for most of the winter. Flere and there dicate some drastic modification in the remaining examples of a free-ranging lie the carcasses and bleached bones of horses' kidneys. But no physiological wild herd. several horses that didn't make it studies have been done on the animals, Local residents, most from Harkers through the winter. Perhaps they and at least one doctor is skeptical. Island, claim the horses, goats, sheep mired down in marsh mud and were "That the horses could drink salt and cattle that roam Shackleford. too weak to pul1 themselves out. water is beyond the reaim of com- Each year, around July Fourth, they Across the marsh, another mare is prehension. I think it's a myth," says round up the horses, pen them and grazing. This one has a by her side. William B. Blythe, professor of brand the foa1s. The horses are a part It was probably born a few months medicine at the University of North of the heritage of the Outer Banks and bef ore, the toughest time f or the Carolina in Chapel Hill. a tradition some folks are afraid may horses-the time when food is running The horses have adapted to a place be slipping away. out and the fresh grass hasn't begun to where fresh water and food are both in Sentiment has been aroused by re- grow yet. short supply. They've learned that if cent talk of a The horses of Shackleford Banks they dig deep enough, sometimes as Plan to remove the animals from and Carrot Island survive in a harsh deep as four feet, they'li find a few sips Shackleford Island and to leave a environment. They eat the salty of fresh water. "representative herd" of horses. grasses and paw in the sand for a sip of It's a iife where only the strong sur- But Preston "Mack" Riddel. brackish water. In the summer, they vive. John Funderburg, director of the superintendent of the Cape Lookout stand in 100-degree weather and en- North Carolina Museum of Natural National Seashore offices, says it's dure biting flies and swarming mos- History, says, "Over the years, there's premature to discuss the fate of the quitoes. In the winter, they seek been rather rigorous selection for those animals. The Park Service is in the shelter behind the dunes from freezing who could survive the heat, adapt to process of purchasing Shackleford for winds, their coats becoming thick and drinking brackish water and survive inclusion in the Cape Lookout shaggy. But somehow, the horses have the greatest concentration of mos- National Seashore. So far, though, adapted to the island's harsh environ- quitoes in the salt marsh world. The only about 500 acres of the total 3,000 ment. weak just don't survive under those have been purchased. Daniel Rubenstein, a Princeton conditions. ' ' "From our studies thus far, it ap- biologist, says that islands, because of Now, after years of the horses mak- pears the goats, cows and sheep should their ruggedness, extreme climates and ing it on their own, some people think be removed and a representative herd fluctuating freshwater levels, "provide it's time to start managing the herds. of horses should remain. But that habitats that must be adapted to in At least two scientists think could be a year, two years or even three years away. Many people think it's going to happen tomorrow and it's not," says Riddel. One of the problems in setting policy for Shackleford once the purchase is complete wili be that scientists dis- agree on how the island should be managed. Gene Wood, wildlife ecologist at Ciemson University's Bel1e W. Baruch Forest Science Institute, conducted a four-year study for the Park Service to determine the impact of the animals on the island. He concluded that if the number of animals continued to in- crease, they would practically denude the island of vegetation. The sheep and goats are likely to cause the most damage to vegetation, he says. "Sheep, in winter months, will even dig out the roots of plants, com- CAPE LOOKOUT pletely destroying them so they can't grow the next season." The goats mainly influence the Where the wild,herds are-tiny Carrot, rettote Shackleford maritime forest. keeping vegetation Pltoto by Neil Caudle closely trimmed and nibbling bark off the trees. Without the goats, the forest wouldn't be penetrable by man, says ,t Wood. Cattle and horses graze mainly in ::.1: . ,i;;:.1 it,, ,,t, t: t.'.:.".;?,. ' ': :.)':: ,.^ .1, 1 -'{ the grasslands, with the cattle prefer- " ring the upland areas and the horses opting for the salt marshes when they are green. To determine the impact the animals have on island vegetation, Wood set up exciosures to keep them from grazing on small one-tenth-acre areas. In enclosures in the marsh, he found that "the areas would produce substantial amounts of cordgrass if the animals weren't grazing." Wood says his studies show that the animals should be removed from the island to avoid over-grazing. "But, be- cause of the possible historical links of the horses, a lot of people will demand Photo by Nancy Davis they be left on the island. If that is Will banker lrorses eat thernselves done, the number of horses that wiil be out of lrouse and horne? Scienfisfs maintained must be matched by the disaSree. Sfudies usin4i exclosures island's ability to feed them." sucfi as the one above showed Wood says his data suggest the Qrazing by all the anirnals rvas se- horse herds are increasing by 15 per- vere. At right, the rernains o-f one cent each year. In a 1980 aerial survey, horse that didn't rnake it. he counted 108 horses. 74 cows, 144 sheep and 65 goats. Since those are But Wood predicts eventual over- horses by removing five to eight foals numbers of animals he actually saw, population of the island, tremendous each year. Wood estimates the populations are attrition in animal condition and mass Bill McElyea of the Off ice of probably higher, particularly for the starvation if the populations aren't Coastal Management, says a manage- goats, which often graze in the forest. managed. "In my opinion, letting ment plan is being developed for Rubenstein, who's been studying nature take its course would be a Carrot Island. "We'd like to let the the horses for the past 10 years, dis- serious mistake," Wood says. horses remain because they're a part of agrees with some of Wood's conclu- Another scientist, Rolf Hoffman, the aesthetics of Carrot Island. People sions. He says, "The population main- predicts a similar doom for the horses in Beaufort have a strong attachment tains itself. They are not overgrazing on Carrot Island. As a Duke Univer- to Carrot Island and to the horses. the island." In the past 10 years, the sity graduate student in biology, We're going to encourage f urther horses have maintained a steady pop- Hoffman wrote, "The results . . . in- research regarding the horse popula- ulation of about 100, he says. He at- dicate that Bird Shoal-Carrot Island tion," says McElyea. tributes the slight rise in the popula- may reach its carrying capacity for But there may be a complication in tion in recent years to a few hard win- iarge mammals in the f oreseeable the state's attempt to manage the ters during the late 70s. Then the num- future." lle recommends the state horse population on Carrot Island. A bers were reduced to about 83 and the develop a management plan to avoid Greensboro man says he owns the population has been recovering since over-population, deteriorating health horses and would like to leave them then, not actually increasing, he says. of the animals and the eventual there. Rubenstein says that nature is doing destruction of their habitat. Whatever the fate of the horses on an effective job of managing the horse The state recently purchased Carrot Shackleford Banks and Carrot Island, population, without the help of man. Island for inclusion in the N.C. it is sure that they are both a tourist He says the horses won't increase their National Estuarine Sanctuary. attraction and a sentimental tie to the numbers beyond what the island's According to Hoffman's figures, past. Each weekend during the sum- resources can support. there were 24 horses on Carrot Island mer months, 83-year-old Grayden Rubenstein says the horses are uni- in 1977. By 1982, that number had Paul boards a double-decker English que, that their value to science de- grown to 50. Hoffman says that if that sight-seeing bus and leads tourists pends on their being left alone. Any growth rate continues, the population through Beaufort. He points out the management, he says, even so much as would reach 80 by 1985, resulting in horses which roam Carrot Island removing part of a horse herd from over-grazing of the island, an increased across the water from Beaufort and Shackleford, wiil destroy the natural shortage of water and higher competi- says, "I was born and raised right here scientific laboratory the island offers. tion for good grazing areas. He with those ponies." "If manage it, it's no laboratory." proposed keeping the population to 50 Davis they -Nancy Slash Star and the harems of Shackleford

p or the first four years of his life, the colt Slash marsh. The stallion fights too, but now he has more ^ Star has roamed the grassy swales and marshes time to rest, to graze, to groom his herd. The colt is of Shackleford Banks with the herd-the harem-of learning to fight. his father. Now it is time for him to leave and make One day, when the older stallion is away defending his own way. their border, Slash Star mates with one of the mares. He gallops past the dunes, over the tough When the stallion returns, he too mates with the cordgrass, stopping once to paw the damp sand and mare, as if reclaiming her. sip fresh water as it collects in the hole. Soon he Slash Star has broken the pact, and he will again. reaches the limit of his father's domain, a line Before very long, he and the harem leader will battle marked only by a few low shrubs, some piles of dung. for control of the herd. The loser will be banished. He crosses the border. For several days he lingers there, grazing on the fringes of another stallion's territory. The stallion The story of Slash Star first appeared, not in the glares out through a shock of wiry mane; he herds his pages of romantic fiction, but in a scientific journal. harem away from the intruder. Slash Star grows The original account of his coming-of-age, written in bolder, grazing nearer to the herd. the more objective and scholarly prose of a scientist Suddenly, the stallion charges, head up, his flaxen writing for scientists, was the work of Daniel mane waving like a banner. His ruddy coat is stiff Rubenstein, a Princeton IJniversity biologist who with salt spray. His flanks are scarred. As he meets specializes in behavioral ecology-the study of how the colt they snort, wheel, lay back their ears and animals' behavior relates to their environment. mark the ground with their scent. Soon their hooves For the past ten years, Rubenstein has spent much are flying, the stallion rearing high to flail the air. of his free time on Shackleford Banks, traipsing the There is no clear winner. Slash Star is agile and ex- sands and wading the marshes with his students, ceptionally strong, but the older stallion has earned jotting notes about the wild ways of the 100 or so his place with skill and savvy. After several days of feral horses there. He knows them all, he says, by testing one another, the stallion holds his ground, their markings and by the names he gives them-Big but cannot run the colt away. Red, Slash Star, Squiggle Face and JJ. And he calls At last, they reach an understanding. Slash Star the social order among Shackleford horses "unique." can stay, but only as the stallion's helper, an appren- "The horses there set up territories and defend tice. He will have no mares of his own. them," Rubenstein says. "They don't do that Things go smoothly for several months. Day after anywhere else. Shackleford is a natural laboratory of day, Slash Star charges out to help defend the animal behavior." harem's borders. Sometimes the fights are vicious; Each year since he first studied the island as a his bleeding jaws sting when he drinks in the salt graduate student from Duke University, Rubenstein has watched the harem leaders defend their borders, Photo by Neil Caudle which never shifted more than fifteen or twenty meters. Then, in 1980, the laboratory turned upside down. What happened on Shackleford was nothing short of revolution-the violent overthrow of a great social order. "The harem leaders were getting older, and at the same time there was an increase in the number of bachelor males," Rubenstein says. "Some of the young turks took over, threw the old out, and divided the mares up among them. Now there are no big harems and no territories, only small herds and overlapping ranges." But Rubenstein expects to see the territories reassert themselves. "My hypothesis is that the strongest of the stallions will begin to take mares away from the rest, and when it's economical, they'll set up the Stallion wearin! ffte scars of battle territories again." .a

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Adapted from map by Daniel Rubenstein Shackleford ltorses, like the thrce youn$sters above, Ieave their natal SHACKLEFORD herds when they are ready to BANKS breed. Map at right shows ffte r's/and's social orsanization before the takeover of 1980. Four harem- masters kept tetritories in the grassy eastern end, while bachelor groups and two rovinS harems shared the island's center.

He thinks the territories came about because they their territory, even for sheltering trees just a few served the interests of the herd. And Rubenstein has miles away. found that the quality of life in the territories is ac- Why are the territories so important? Rubenstein tually better in some ways than the life outside. He believes that, by defending large areas of resources, a explains why by pointing to features in Shackleford's stallion can increase the size of his harem, secure bet- environment. ter grazing sites for the females in his herd, and help Shackleford is a narrow barrier island running ensure that he fathers more offspring. west to east for about l07z miles. On the eastern end, Grass grew longer in the territories. Rubenstein under the sweep of Cape Lookout's lighthouse beam, has reported that the horses there seemed to dis- a broad, grassy swale rolls back from the dunes, cipline their grazing-cropping one area at a time, pocked with holes containing rainwater, until it allowing new grass to establish itself. reaches the salt-marsh flats on the island's sound But on Shackleford's western end, high dunes and side. This eastern end is open, easy to patrol. Four maritime forest break the landscape into clumps of herds made their home there, never leaving. Even vegetation too small to manage or defend for the when stampeded and driven away, the herds quickly sake of a large herd. Here was a kind of netherland of re-settled their home turf. On many a stormy night, bachelors, outcasts and lone mares, running in small Rubenstein has watched them huddle together bands, disbanding to form new groups, scuffling over behind a dune or a fishing shack, unwilling to leave Continued on next paSe a drink of water, a mouthful of grass. The weakest and the lowest-ranking drank last and least; many died. Only a few gained the strength and rank to challenge a harem master for his herd, or earned a place on the East End. Between these regions lies a third, where Rubenstein found both the vegetation and the pat- tern of equine society in transition. Two herds shared the area, and their habits were like those of the wild mustangs in the Grand Canyon. Their ranges overlapped; they took turns at central water- ing holes. "Growing up in animal societies is not an easy task," Rubenstein writes. It is a stark understate- ment, measured against the sun-bleached bones of a horse that died because it lacked the strength to pull A Shackleford ntare and het foal itself out of the marsh mud. On Shackleford, no one intervenes in the process of . Aside In the harem, a filly is also assigned her rank, from the Fourth roundup, when families, many July depending on her age and condition-adults ranking from Harkers island, brand a few foals and reclaim a highest. Threats, headshakes and kicking help the largely symbolic ownership, people for the most part top mares dominate their subordinates. leave horses alone. Sickness, injury and starva- the The top-ranking mares enjoy several privileges, trim the population to a hundred or so. tion especially in the territories. Rubenstein has shown Rubenstein says that newborn colts have a 41 per- that territorial stallions favor ranking females, both cent chance living years, the age by which of two as mates and for what he calls "grooming." Horses face most are weaned. Fillies slightly better odds, groom one another by picking off bugs with their probably because are less rowdy and require they teeth, or cleaning matted manes and coats. They ex- less food. ercise more independence as well, since the stallion Colts and fillies born into this world find it gover- herds and harries them less frequently than those of ned the drive survive, leave offspring, but by to to lower status. Outside the territories, these privileges also by aggression and a strict protocol. of rank were far less pronounced. Typically, colts stay in their parents' herd until Since the revolution of '80, things just haven't about age four, the age when most are ready to been the same among the herds of Shackleford. Big breed. Then they leave, some of their own accord, Red, who once ruled a herd of. 22 and the big some because they are at last driven away. territory on the island's eastern tip, lost his harem to Infrequently, a colt will be strong and smart an upstart. So did JJ, a stallion with a harem 18- enough to earn a place as helper in the herd of a strong. Now the herds are smaller-six or seven neighboring stallion. Most often, he must first pay each, and the youngsters run the show. his dues among the bachelors and loners on the West And what about the colt Slash Star? He lost that End. If he arrives there strong and practiced at battle for the sorrel stallion's harem, some eight fighting, he may enter West End society with a rank months after his arrival as apprentice. near the middle, and survive to reproduce, either by And even though the territorial order has fallen, taking harem, sneaking into another a or by Rubenstein and his students will be back next year, stallion's herd to mate. and probably for years to come, watching to see if it Rank is both a matter of seniority-the older rises again. With their stopwatches, recorders, bachelors often prevail-and power. Males win cameras and notebooks, they will record the births, promotions with their teeth, their hooves, and also the deaths, the horseplay and the battles. They will with the ferocity of their threats. feed all their facts into computers and print out the Fillies, which begin breeding around their third patterns and pecking-orders. In the laboratory of birthday, often leave their natal herd then and wan- Shackleford, they are learning not only about horses, der widely on the island before they settle on a but about method-techniques that Rubenstein says harem, where they are usually welcome by the will help them see how wild creatures of all kinds stallion, not other mares. Rubenstein if by the adapt to a harsh and unusual environment. postulates that these relocations-among both males females-help Caudle and reduce inbreeding. -Neil TIIII IilN)ITPI(ilI

"The Back PaSe" is an update Surf fishing, sailing, For the past year, one of Parnell's on Sea Grant activities-on snorkeling and traveling students has studied the birds of Bat- research, marine education and are just a few of the ac- tery Island. He's trying to find ways to advisory servrces. .If 's also a Qood tivities planned f or a maintain the nesting site so the birds place to find out about rneetinSs, summer workshop for will return to the island year after workshops and new publications. young people. The 4-H year. For more inforrnation on any of Marine Environment the projects descrrbed, contact the Workshop will concentrate on marine Sea Grant of f ices in RaleiPh resources, coastal ecology and marine- Parnell has received Sea Grant (e1e/737-24s4). related careers. The workshop will in- mini-grant funds to survey popula- clude programs at the Bogue Banks tions of nesting colonial waterbirds. In Marine Resources Center, the Division an earlier Sea Grant project, Parnell of Marine Fisheries and the NCSU Wh"., it comes to fer- and Robert Soots, an associate in- tilizing the land, it may Seafood Lab. vestigator, developed a census The workshop will be held August 7- methodology for calculating waterbird be best to look to the sea. Camp in Hans Paerl, a Sea Grant 12 at Mitchell 4-H populations. They used the Registration open to researcher at the Uni- Swansboro. is methodology to find out where and 14-18 and is not limited to versity of North Caroli- teens ages how many colonial waterbirds were for week- na Institute of Marine 4-H members. The fee the nesting along the North Carolina long workshop is and the deadline Sciences in Morehead City, has found $90 coast. Now Parnell wants to check the that codium seaweed stimulates for registration is July 1. Participants waterbirds to see if populations and first-come, first- growth in piants. will be accepted on a nesting sites have changed. basis and the workshop is limited Codium grows thick in shellfish serve "Birds are an important barometer to 40 students. beds, often choking the bed's occu- of the environment that should be The workshop is one in a series of pants. Paerl wanted to find a use for monitored periodically, " says Sea 4-H activities that have grown out of a the nuisance seaweed, one that would Grant Director B.J. Copeland. Sea Grant project conducted in 1981 Soots and Parnell's Atlas of make harvest economically feasible 1982 promote marine and control the seaweed's abundant and to Colonial Waterbirds of North growth. awareness. Carolina Esfuaries. written at the more inf ormation, contact Using agricultural methods in an For completion of their project, is available Medlicott, P.O. Box 5157, oceanographic laboratory, Paerl set Jaynee from UNC Sea Grant, Box 5001, North Carolina State University, out to see how codium affected plant Raleigh, N.C. 27650. The 274-page Raleigh, N.C. 27650 or call (919) 737- growth. Other seaweeds, such as book costs $7. Ask for publication sargassum, had been shown rich in 3243. UNC-SG-78-10. plant hormones that stimulated growth. But tests indicated codium did produce of just not a high concentration Battery Isiand, Lurry Crowder, a these hormones. across the Cape Fear North Carolina State Trying another approach, Paerl River from Southport. is University zoologist, has tested codium as a soil conditioner for the site of the largest received mini-grant corn. He found that soil conditioned heronry in the state. funds to study the pred- with codium yielded greater harvests And, each spring and ator-prey relationship 4,000 than soil dressed with horse manure. summer, at least among fishes in the es- Paerl says the codium is best when pairs of herons make the island their tuary. Crowder, who recently joined dried, washed of excess salts and then home. the NCSU faculty, comes to North applied during the fall months as a soil According to James Parnell, a Carolina from Wisconsin, where he has applicant. biologist at UNC-Wilmington who has just completed a three-year Wisconsin Paerl says harvesting codium for use done Sea Grant research on water- Sea Grant project. as a soil conditioner depends on three birds, "Many birds, in the process of Crowder will be sampling fish in things: a willingness by fishermen to nesting and raising their young, Pamlico Sound's Rose Bay to establish harvest the seaweed, the economic damage the habitat. Herons are like predator diets and size. He plans to benefits of harvest and processing, and this. For example, they produce so develop a predator-prey model for the the acceptance of codium as a fertilizer much excrement that they actually area. in place of more traditional soil dress- over-fertilize the vegetation. They also ings such as manure. just physically break a lot of it down." Continued on next page Mini-grant funds have been award- ed to John Maiolo, an East Carolina University sociologist, to develop a Coastu'atch is a free ne\\'sletter. If 1'ou'd Iike to be added to the mailing list, fill methodology to measure the growth out this form and send it to Sea Grant, Box 5001, Raleigh, N.C.27650. and impact of recreational populations in five coastal counties: Hyde, Dare, Carteret, New Hanover and Name Brunswick. Information learned from the study will be useful to managers Address who allocate resources such as water supplies and recreational areas. Cityo$la1srZip Code Maiolo will also take a hard look at how the housing growth that results from increased tourism affects shellfish To help us specialize our services, please answer these questions. closings. I am in the follou'ing line of wr-rrk:

,Joatbuilding/Repair --Marina operator Coastwatch is published monthly government recreation except July and December by the Uni- -(litv/Clountv -Marine fishing media versity of North Carolina Sea Grant -Commercial -Mass College Program, 105 1911 Building, Jlducator processing/marketing North Carolina State University, -Seafood government Raleigh, NC 27650-5001. Vol. 10, No. -l'arming -State 5, May, 1983. Dr. B.J. Copeland, prof essor/researcher director. Neil Caudle, editor. Kathy -Homemaker -University Lawyer Hart and Nancy Davis, staff writers. -Other Second-class postage paid at Coastal propert)' ou'ner Boat o$ner Raleigh, NC 27611. -)'es -no -)'es -no

00ASl'$i$'OH Second-class postage paid i05 1911 Building at Raleigh, NC 27611 North Carolina State University (rssN r94-s742) Raleigh, NC 27650 a\

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