DOCSLIB.ORG

The Wild Horses of Assateague Island

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Wild Horses of Assateague Island National Park Service Assateague Island U.S. Department of the Interior Assateague Island National Seashore Maryland and Virginia The Wild Horses of Assateague Island A National Treasure The wild horses of Assateague Island are descendents of domesticated animals brought to the island over 300 years ago. Horses tough enough to survive the scorching heat, abundant insects, stormy weather and poor quality food found on this windswept barrier island have formed a unique wild horse society. Enjoy their beauty from a distance, and you can help make sure these extraordinary wild horses will continue to thrive on Assateague Island. “My treasures do not click together or glitter. They gleam in the sun and neigh in the night.” - Bedouin proverb Where did they come Were the horses shipwreck survivors . to pay taxes on all mainland livestock and fence from? Local folklore describes the Assateague horses them in. as survivors of a shipwreck off the Virginia Like people in the 21st century, these coast. While this dramatic tale of struggle and resourceful coastal residents looked for ways survival is popular, there are no records yet that to avoid paying this tax. They turned to nearby confirm it. Assateague Island with its abundance of food, shelter and a natural “corral” made of water to . or settlers’ horses? solve their problem. During the 17th century free-roaming horses, cows, sheep and pigs caused expensive crop It is likely that modern Assateague horses are damage to local farms. Farmers were required descendents of those hardy animals turned loose on the island to graze tax-free. Living the wild life in Assateague’s horses are uniquely adapted to a new set of challenges. The horses escape the Maryland survive on a barrier island. How do they do it? mosquitoes and flies of the marsh by spending more time on the beach and in the surf, letting What do they eat? the refreshing ocean breezes carry away The horses spend most of their time airborne pests. grazing on abundant but nutrient-poor Cooler fall weather and fewer insects allow the saltmarsh cordgrass, saltmeadow hay and beach bands to move from the beaches back to the grass. The horses’ short stature is a result of marshes and their abundant grasses. hundreds of years of adaptation to this low quality diet. Genetically they are considered The horses prefer to browse in shrub horses, even though they are now pony size. thickets during the damp, chilly, winter season. Their thick, furry coats will protect them from The Assateague horses drink over twice the ferocious winter winds and the occasional amount of water that domesticated horses will snowstorm. due to their salty food supply. All that drinking combined with a high salt diet contributes to Do they receive veterinary care? their bloated appearance. While action may be taken to end the suffering Where do they live throughout the year? of a gravely ill, seriously injured, or dying horse, no measures are taken to prolong the lives of Spring brings cool, rainy weather and fresh Maryland’s wild horses. As with other species plant growth to the island. Many of the horses of Assateague wildlife, horses that are sick or live in the marshes close to their best food weak do not survive. This helps maintain a sources. Foals are usually born in late spring hardy, healthy population of wild horses. and live with their mothers in a family group called a “band”. Each band is usually made up Virginia’s horses are privately owned by the of 2 -10 mares, their offspring and a stallion. Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department and receive some veterinary care. Hot, humid, and full of insects, summer brings Where can you see the In Maryland Do not feed or pet the horses. Horses that wild horses? Maryland’s horses are owned and managed learn to come up to the road are hit and by the National Park Service. They are free- killed by cars. roaming wildlife and could be anywhere in the park. In Virginia Virginia’s horses are privately owned by the During the summer months many bands can Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department and be found on the beach. You can often see the are fenced in large enclosures. horses and other wildlife by driving slowly along park roads. Protect island habitat by Look for the horses in the marshes along Beach parking only in designated parking areas. The Road and from the observation platform on the “Life of the Forest” and “Life of the Marsh” Woodland Trail. trails are good places to look, especially during spring, fall and winter seasons. Misty of Chincoteague Many visitors first learn about the Assateague On the following day most of the young foals and Pony Penning horses from Marguerite Henry’s famous book are auctioned off. Misty of Chincoteague. Written in 1947, this classic children’s tale tells the story of a Proceeds from the sale benefit the young horse called “Misty” and the children Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department, who loved her. While the story is fiction, the which is responsible for the care and characters (including the horses) were real. management of the Virginia herd. The story takes place during a traditional Virginia’s privately owned horses are kept Chincoteague festival called “Pony Penning”. separated from Maryland’s wild horses by a On the last Wednesday of July, the Virginia fence that runs across the Maryland/Virginia herd of horses is rounded up and swum from state line. Maryland’s horses are not rounded Assateague Island to nearby Chincoteage Island. up or sold at auction. How is the population In Maryland Like people, wild horses are highly social controlled? It is important to limit the number of wild animals that form complex, family-based horses on Assateague. Left to themselves, the societies. Using this contraceptive method horses will quickly destroy the barrier island the population is controlled, and their natural environment that sustains them. relationships in the wild are preserved. The National Park Service (NPS) wanted a Results of a 2005 genetic study of the entire safe, effective way to control overpopulation. herd will be used to help the NPS make wise Researchers working in conjunction with the herd management decisions. The goal of the NPS developed a non-hormonal, non-invasive NPS in Maryland is to keep herd size to less vaccine to prevent pregnancy. This vaccine than 125 horses. is delivered by a dart to the hindquarters of selected mares each spring. In Virginia To keep the gene pool as large as possible each Virginia’s privately owned herd produces 60- mare is allowed to have one offspring. This 90 foals every year. Most of the foals are sold vaccine has successfully lowered the birth at the annual auction, which keeps the number rate of Maryland’s horses to fewer than 10 of horses at or below the 150 adults allowed by foals per year - enough to ensure a sustainable the grazing permit. population. What can you do to Be a responsible visitor. Become a Foster Parent! support the wild horses? Assateague’s horses are beautiful, tough, and Through the Assateague Island Foster Horse wild. They have learned to survive in a harsh Program you can “adopt” a member of environment. Feeding and/or petting them is Maryland’s herd. These funds help support detrimental to both visitors and horses. the management of the horses and the environment they depend on to survive. • Horses can get sick from human food. Enjoy them! • Horses that learn to come up to the road to beg for food are often hit and There are few places in the United States killed by cars. where you can view wild horses. Due to their complex social structure the Assateague horses • Visitors are kicked, bitten and knocked display a wide range of unique behaviors. Take down every year as a direct result of advantage of the opportunity to view these getting too close to the wild horses. horses in a natural habitat. • Treating wild horses like tame animals With careful management, the wild horses will takes away the wildness that makes continue to thrive on Assateague Island and them special. provide enjoyment to thousands of nature enthusiasts, photographers, and people who Protect your family by respecting theirs. just love horses! Give the horses the space they need to be wild. For more information on Assateague’s wild horses visit www.nps.gov/asis. EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 2020 Weather in Review: Assateague Island National Seashore
    National Park Service Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network U.S. Department of the Interior Inventory & Monitoring Division 2020 Weather in Review: Assateague Island National Seashore Weather and climate play significant roles in driving both physical and ecological processes. For example, the active processes that shape the North Atlantic coastline are largely the result of meteorological events such as wind- driven waves. For research and long-term ecological monitoring, weather and climate data provide the potential for correlations to be made with observed physical and ecological pattern data. This resource brief provides a summary of both historic and current (2020) weather data for Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS), Maryland (MD). Because tide levels and wind can be significant for coastal parks, the annual water level and wind data are included. Temperature Overall, 2020 was the 2nd warmest year on record with an average temperature of 59.4 °F — 3.1 degrees above average (Figure 1). Spring nearly reached “above normal” temperatures, while summer, autumn, and winter seasons fell within “much above normal” temperatures. 2020 had the 2nd warmest winter on record. The warmest month was July with an average of 81 degrees — 4.7 degrees over the monthly average. Every month had higher than average temperatures, except May at 1.4 degrees below average (Table 1). Table1. Worcester County, Maryland average monthly, average annual, and departures from long- term average temperatures. Departures from average are based on a comparison of 2020 average temperatures to relevant averages from 1895-2019. Data are available at NOAA NCEI: Climate at a Glance (https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cag/county/time-series/MD-047/tavg/all/12/2020-2020).
    [Show full text]
  • List of Horse Breeds 1 List of Horse Breeds
    List of horse breeds 1 List of horse breeds This page is a list of horse and pony breeds, and also includes terms used to describe types of horse that are not breeds but are commonly mistaken for breeds. While there is no scientifically accepted definition of the term "breed,"[1] a breed is defined generally as having distinct true-breeding characteristics over a number of generations; its members may be called "purebred". In most cases, bloodlines of horse breeds are recorded with a breed registry. However, in horses, the concept is somewhat flexible, as open stud books are created for developing horse breeds that are not yet fully true-breeding. Registries also are considered the authority as to whether a given breed is listed as Light or saddle horse breeds a "horse" or a "pony". There are also a number of "color breed", sport horse, and gaited horse registries for horses with various phenotypes or other traits, which admit any animal fitting a given set of physical characteristics, even if there is little or no evidence of the trait being a true-breeding characteristic. Other recording entities or specialty organizations may recognize horses from multiple breeds, thus, for the purposes of this article, such animals are classified as a "type" rather than a "breed". The breeds and types listed here are those that already have a Wikipedia article. For a more extensive list, see the List of all horse breeds in DAD-IS. Heavy or draft horse breeds For additional information, see horse breed, horse breeding and the individual articles listed below.
    [Show full text]
  • Genomics and the Evolutionary History of Equids Pablo Librado, Ludovic Orlando
    Genomics and the Evolutionary History of Equids Pablo Librado, Ludovic Orlando To cite this version: Pablo Librado, Ludovic Orlando. Genomics and the Evolutionary History of Equids. Annual Review of Animal Biosciences, Annual Reviews, 2021, 9 (1), 10.1146/annurev-animal-061220-023118. hal- 03030307 HAL Id: hal-03030307 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03030307 Submitted on 30 Nov 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Annu. Rev. Anim. Biosci. 2021. 9:X–X https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-animal-061220-023118 Copyright © 2021 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved Librado Orlando www.annualreviews.org Equid Genomics and Evolution Genomics and the Evolutionary History of Equids Pablo Librado and Ludovic Orlando Laboratoire d’Anthropobiologie Moléculaire et d’Imagerie de Synthèse, CNRS UMR 5288, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse 31000, France; email: [email protected] Keywords equid, horse, evolution, donkey, ancient DNA, population genomics Abstract The equid family contains only one single extant genus, Equus, including seven living species grouped into horses on the one hand and zebras and asses on the other. In contrast, the equine fossil record shows that an extraordinarily richer diversity existed in the past and provides multiple examples of a highly dynamic evolution punctuated by several waves of explosive radiations and extinctions, cross-continental migrations, and local adaptations.
    [Show full text]
  • Observing Wild Horse Behavior by Dr
    National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Cape Lookout www.nps.gov.calo Observing Wild Horse Behavior by Dr. Sue Stuska, Wildlife Biologist - have interactions with other stallions (and to occur over mares in estrus Horses, Cape Lookout National Seashore mares, if they have the chance). (breeding readiness). The wild horses in the park are Wild social behavior is fascinating. The result of any interac- managed as wild animals. Wild horse watching is so informative be- tion is usually a clear winner cause the whole horse society is there; they and loser. If a youngster is This means that they show us wild behav- have all grown up learning the behavioral involved, he may show his iors and interactions which are fascinating “rules”; and they have a large area in which teeth in a clapping gesture to to watch. The draw for visitors and locals to interact. Most notably, a number of stal- display his submissiveness alike is that these magnificent animals can be lions are present, the whole social “order” is and thus avoid being the watched from a distance without our inter- in place, and there are no artificial boundar- target of aggression. fering in their wild lives and, so, they show ies - only natural ones. us how wild horses act when not influenced When a stallion loses he by people. Instead of leading, stallions most often fol- doesn’t necessarily run away. low the mares as they move from place to You may see him suddenly What can we learn from wild place. As long as the mares are far enough be interested in grazing, or horses? he may walk to his mares and Horses thrive in the wild, Stallion herding posture involves a straight head-neck line, low- move them away to pro- and have evolved through ered nose, and pinned ears.
    [Show full text]
  • GIS Enhances Restoration of Northern Assateague Island
    GIS Enhances Restoration of Northern Assateague Island Jane Thomas, IAN Image Library (www.ian.umces.edu/imagelibrary/) Andrew Roach ([email protected]) ESRI International Users Conference Assateague Island National Seashore National Parks Track, August 2006 Assateague Island GIS Enhances Restoration of Northern Assateague Island Assateague Island National Seashore Maryland and Virginia •Three Management GIS Enhances Agencies Restoration of Northern – National Assateague Park Service Island – Maryland Department of Natural Assateague Island Resources National Seashore –US Fish and Maryland Wildlife and Virginia Service •37 miles north/south Assateague Island GIS 1933 Hurricane: Enhances Restoration Creation of Ocean City of Northern Inlet Assateague Island Assateague Island National Seashore Maryland and Virginia Assateague Island 1962 Nor’easter: Island-Wide Devastation GIS Enhances Restoration of Northern Assateague Island Assateague Island National Seashore Maryland and Virginia Natural Processes Interrupted GIS Enhances Restoration of Northern Assateague Island Assateague Island National Seashore Maryland and Virginia Mitigation Efforts GIS Enhances Restoration of Northern Assateague Island Assateague Island National Seashore Maryland and Virginia Jane Thomas, IAN Image Library (www.ian.umces.edu/imagelibrary/) Data GIS Enhances Restoration of Northern • Shorelines Assateague Island • Cross-Island Elevation Profiles •Lidar Assateague Island • Aerial Photography National Seashore •Bathymetry Maryland • Near-shore Profiles and Virginia
    [Show full text]
  • Wild Horses: Galloping Through Time by Kelly Milner Halls
    Teacher’s Edition Wild Horses: Galloping Through Time by Kelly Milner Halls Available only from Junior Library Guild 7858 Industrial Parkway Plain City, OH 43026 www.juniorlibraryguild.com Copyright © Junior Library Guild 0 About JLG Guides Junior Library Guild selects the best new hardcover children’s and YA books being published in the U.S. and makes them available to libraries and schools, often before the books are available from anyone else. Timeliness and value mark the mission of JLG: to be the librarian’s partner. But how can JLG help librarians be partners with classroom teachers? With JLG Guides. JLG Guides are activity and reading guides written by people with experience in both children’s and educational publishing—in fact, many of them are former librarians or teachers. The JLG Guides are made up of activity guides for younger readers (grades K–3) and reading guides for older readers (grades 4–12), with some overlap occurring in grades 3 and 4. All guides are written with national and state standards as guidelines. Activity guides focus on providing activities that support specific reading standards; reading guides support various standards (reading, language arts, social studies, science, etc.), depending on the genre and topic of the book itself. JLG Guides can be used both for whole class instruction and for individual students. Pages are reproducible for classroom use only, and a teacher’s edition accompanies most JLG Guides. Research indicates that using authentic literature in the classroom helps improve students’ interest level and reading skills. You can trust JLG to provide the very best in new-release books, and now to enhance those selections by giving your school the tools to use those books in the classroom.
    [Show full text]
  • CHANGING PERCEPTIONS of WILD HORSES in the AMERICAN LANDSCAPE a Dissertation Submitted to the Gradu
    RUNNING WILD, RUNNING FREE?: CHANGING PERCEPTIONS OF WILD HORSES IN THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Science By Andrea Lynn Mott In Partial Fulfillment for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major Department: History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies May 2014 Fargo, North Dakota North Dakota State University Graduate School Title Running Wild, Running Free: Changing Perceptions of Wild Horses in the American Landscape By Andrea Lynn Mott The Supervisory Committee certifies that this disquisition complies with North Dakota State University’s regulations and meets the accepted standards for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: Thomas D. Isern Chair Angela Smith Cynthia Prescott Kevin Sedivec James F. Hoy Approved: July 11, 2014 John Cox Date Department Chair ABSTRACT Since the 1930s, wild horses have become a subject of public concern. They are often showcased as symbols representing the historic past of the western United States. More recently they have become symbols of a mythic, or imagined, west. Writers, scholars, politicians, advocates, ranchers, and land managers are among the few groups who have taken a role in the livelihood of these animals living freely on public rangelands. The protection movement that began in the 1950s and carried over into the 1970s ultimately resulted in the passage of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. This act placed all wild horses living on public rangelands under the protection of the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. Before this legislation individuals in the West could round up wild horses without interference.
    [Show full text]
  • A Brief History of Worcester County (PDF)
    Contents Worcester’s Original Locals ................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Native American Names ...................................................................................................................................................................... 5 From Colony To Free State ................................................................................................................................................................. 6 A Divided Land: Civil War .................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Storm Surges & Modern Times ........................................................................................................................................................... 8 Our Historic Towns .............................................................................................................................................................................. 9 Berlin ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 9 Ocean City .................................................................................................................................................................................. 10 Ocean Pines
    [Show full text]
  • Framing Contemporary U.S. Wild Horse and Burro Management Processes in a Dynamic Ecological, Sociological, and Political Environment
    Human–Wildlife Interactions 12(1):31–45, Spring 2018 Synthesis Framing contemporary U.S. wild horse and burro management processes in a dynamic ecological, sociological, and political environment J. Dˎ˛ˎ˔ Sˌˊ˜˝ˊ, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, University of Wyoming, 1000 E. University Ave., Laramie, WY 82071, USA [email protected] Jˊˌ˘ˋ D. Hˎ˗˗˒ː, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, University of Wyoming, 1000 E. University Ave., Laramie, WY 82071, USA Jˎˏˏ˛ˎˢ L. Bˎˌ˔, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, University of Wyoming, 1000 E. University Ave., Laramie, WY 82071, USA Abstract: The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (WFRHBA) of 1971 established all “unbranded or unclaimed” equids on U.S. public lands as “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West.” Today, >72,000 feral horses (Equus ferus caballus) and burros (E. asinus; WHB) live on western U.S. public rangelands. The number of WHBs exceeds the Bureau of Land Management’s maximum Appropriate Management Level (AML) of 26,715 by a factor of approximately 2.7 and has nearly doubled from 2007–2015. The AML was set to balance WHB numbers with rangeland health and support other uses such as wildlife habitat and livestock grazing. Thus, public land management agencies must manage WHB under the multiple-use context. This becomes more problematic when WHB populations go largely unmanaged and excessive equid grazing negatively impacts rangeland vegetation, native wildlife, and livestock forage. In addition, approximately 46,000 WHBs exist in off -range holding facilities, further straining federal budgets. Contemporary management actions are being constrained by: (1) litigation that has stymied federal government WFRHBA enforcement eff orts, (2) public emotional concerns that lack reconciliation with the current situation, and (3) increasing complexity in the laws and subsequent amendments shaping WHB management policy.
    [Show full text]
  • Horses of Assateague Island Population and Habitat Viability Assessment Workshop
    Horses of Assateague Island Population and Habitat Viability Assessment Workshop 29 – 31 March 2006 Berlin, MD, US FINAL REPORT Horses of Assateague Island Population and Habitat Viability Assessment Workshop 29 – 31 March 2006 Berlin, MD, US Final Report Conservation Breeding Specialist Group / SSC / IUCN Workshop organized by: Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS); IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG). Workshop financial support provided by: National Park Service (NPS). Cover photos courtesy of Allison Turner, NPS (horses) and Kathy Traylor-Holzer, CBSG (habitat). Section divider photos courtesy of Allison Turner (sections 1, 5, 8, I), NPS; David Powell (3); and Kathy Traylor- Holzer (2, 4, 6, 7, II, III, IV). A contribution of the IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group. IUCN encourages meetings, workshops and other fora for the consideration and analysis of issues related to conservation, and believes that reports of these meetings are most useful when broadly disseminated. The opinions and views expressed by the authors may not necessarily reflect the formal policies of IUCN, its Commissions, its Secretariat or its members. The designation of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. © Copyright CBSG 2006 Zimmerman, C., M. Sturm, J. Ballou, and K. Traylor-Holzer (eds.). 2006. Horses of Assateague Island Population and Habitat Viability Assessment: Final Report. IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, Apple Valley, MN. Additional copies of Horses of Assateague Island Population and Habitat Viability Assessment Final Report can be ordered through the IUCN/SSC CBSG office ([email protected] or www.cbsg.org).
    [Show full text]
  • Assateague Island National Seashore
    National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Abbreviated Final General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement Assateague Island National Seashore 2017 Cover Photo: Allen Sklar Final Abbreviated General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement Assateague Island National Seashore 2017 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ABBREVIATED FINAL GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN/ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland and Virginia Assateague Island National Seashore (the seashore), established in 1965, preserves the outstanding Mid-Atlantic coastal resources of Assateague Island and its adjacent waters and the natural processes upon which they depend. The seashore also provides high quality resource-compatible recreation experiences. To support these purposes, the National Park Service (NPS) has prepared a new general management plan (GMP) for the seashore, to replace the seashore’s existing GMP completed in 1982. The Draft General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (Draft GMP/EIS) was available for public and agency review from January 29, 2016 through May 1, 2016. The document presents and evaluates four alternatives for management of the seashore. Alternative 1. The NPS would continue to manage resources and visitor uses as it does today. The seashore enabling legislation and the existing General Management Plan (NPS 1982) would continue to guide seashore management. The NPS would manage seashore resources and visitor use as it does today, with no major change in direction. Alternative 2. Most visitors would enjoy traditional beach recreation concentrated within a high density developed area accessible by private vehicle. This alternative would likely require significant manipulation of the natural environment to protect facilities and infrastructure in the island developed area.
    [Show full text]
  • Town of Chincoteague Comprehensive Plan
    TOWN OF CHINCOTEAGUE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN Chincoteague, Virginia Approved January 4, 2010 5 YEAR UPDATE Approved February 2, 2015 Chincoteague, Virginia Comprehensive Plan Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................. I-1 Plan Organization ..................................................................................................... I-2 Legal Framework ...................................................................................................... I-2 Acronyms…………………………………………………………………………...I-4 List of Reports/Studies……………………………………………………………. I-5 Chapter 1 Community Profile .............................................................................. 1-1 History of Chincoteague .......................................................................................... 1-1 Socio-Economic Characteristics ............................................................................. 1-3 Population ............................................................................................................ 1-4 Race...................................................................................................................... 1-4 Age and Sex ......................................................................................................... 1-4 Households ........................................................................................................... 1-4 Natural Features .....................................................................................................
    [Show full text]