All: Ecologically speaking, horses are a true grasslands animal, adaptable to some extent, but not adaptable enough; the Intermountain West and the Southwest have few places truly suitable for horses. Dayton Hyde, who owned a big ranch in southwestern Oregon, moved to the plains to care for "wild" (feral) horses http://www.daytonohyde.com/ahomeforwildhors.html .
This is another good example to illustrate that habitat is not definable by geography; it is defined by the organisms most suited to habitat conditions. The Great Plains is good horse habitat even though horses did not evolve there. Their requirements are similar to the indigenous bison, the healthy-protein animal birthright which our alien forefathers (except my grandmother's side) almost killed out for the mess of white-bread and breakfast-cereal pottage we industrially farm today, so they could probably establish viable populations, especially in the absence of enough predators to keep their populations healthy. The feral horses which do survive (many starve, and many are ill-suited to the harsh conditions under which they must struggle to live, their numbers harshly thinned out to a wilder and wilder form by indifferent Nature.) Personally, I love horses. Ecologically, the western US is very poor in suitable habitat, which is almost entirely taken up by human, fenced-off uses, forcing them to live a harsher-than-normal life in marginal habitat ill-suited to their survival. Even though I admire their beauty, grace, and apparent toughness, turning domestic horses loose is a cruel act for most of them. Personally, I love pronghorns too; they are better-adapted to the marginal, semi-arid, and otherwise harsh habitats of the West than horses and cattle (which also are a grasslands animal, not a "sagebrush steppe" one). WT ----- Original Message ----- From: "Warren W. Aney" <a...@coho.net> To: <ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU> Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 11:08 AM Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] a non Ivory Tower view of invasive species -- feral horses For a good statement and some facts on feral horses and donkeys go The Wildlife Society sites: http://joomla.wildlife.org/documents/positionstatements/Feral.Horses.July..2011.pdf http://joomla.wildlife.org/documents/policy/feral_horses_1.pdf The most recent release of domestic horses into the wild probably occurred this morning due to someone's inability to feed their stock or sell them to a meat processor. Warren W. Aney Senior Wildlife Ecologist Tigard, Oregon -----Original Message----- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU] On Behalf Of Hamazaki, Hamachan (DFG) Sent: Tuesday, 13 September, 2011 01:12 To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] a non Ivory Tower view of invasive species While we are still on invasive species in the US South Western Regions, what is everyone's opinion about wild horses in the US? They are apparently introduced and became invasive, yet are protected by law. BLM manages them as invasive species, while there is a law suit in the 9th circuit court of Appeals to consider them as native species. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028174.300-are-the-wild-horses-of-the-american-west-native.html http://tdn.com/lifestyles/article_71e93474-92ff-11e0-9d41-001cc4c002e0.html I always wondered about this issue while I was in NM. Toshihide "Hamachan" Hamazaki, 濱崎俊秀PhD Alaska Department of Fish and Game: アラスカ州漁業野生動物課 Division of Commercial Fisheries: 商業漁業部 333 Raspberry Rd. Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: (907)267-2158 Cell: (907)440-9934 ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1392 / Virus Database: 1520/3894 - Release Date: 09/13/11
