At the Shackleford Banks of North Carolina’s barrier island, well-intentioned tourists, concerned that a newborn wild foal had been abandoned by her mother, removed the baby from its immediate area hoping to find rescue help.
According to the News Observer, the incident occurred on March 26 when the unnamed tourists “encountered a newborn foal” that followed them around the island for two hours. The tourists did not see any adult horses in the area, and when they left to board their boat to leave the island, the foal tried to follow them. Concerned that the foal would drown, they lifted the foal up and placed him in the boat thus “removing him from his natural habitat – his mother and the herd.”
For a short period early in the foal’s life, it instinctively follows its dam without necessarily knowing which creature she is. When separated, the foal will follow other horses or even people.
National Park Service biologist Sue Stuska
Because it is nearly impossible to figure out who the mother is to the foal in a 120 horse herd, the park has turned the foal over to the Foundation for Shackleford Horses who help care for the wild horses living within Cape Lookout National Seashore. The foal will be raised as “a domesticated animal.”
Park officials stated it is not unusual for a stallion to drive a mare away from her foal, and likely in this case the foal lost contact with his mom. The mare normally will return to her foal.
The people involved in moving the foal have been cited for removing a wild horse from a national park and could face up to six months in jail or fined up to $5,000.
(Photo: National Park Service)
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As much as I love horses, wild horses should be left alone as much as possible……. That’s why I think the park rangers would have been the best people to help this baby……
I know from this article that the tourists acted out of compassion for what appeared to be an abandoned new baby……
If I had been there, I would have suggested that a park ranger be contacted so they could deal with the situation in an appropriate manner…….