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RE: [SPAM] RE: [RC] [RC] natural horse wormers? - heidi
Given the very low population of humans at the time, and the fact that
many other much-hunted species thrived (eg the buffalo), the idea that man was responsible for the demise of the horse on this continent 10,000 years ago doesn't wash.
Additionally, to claim that since the horse was a part of the
much-different ecosystem here 10,000 years ago is a justification to regard him as a "native" species in the ecosystem today is a good example of just how far-fetched some political agendas are. I doubt that our current ecosystem would be particularly friendly to woolly mammoths or saber-toothed tigers, either, when you come right down to it... But I'm sure that if there were a source of them somewhere else in the world, somebody would get the bright idea to make their "reintroduction" a political platform.
As my granddaddy used to say, "That dog don't hunt."
Heidi
PS: For what it's worth, the high desert where I now live has
petrified/fossil evidence that it used to be a redwood forest, too--but we could probably break Bill Gates trying to "reintroduce" redwoods on our cattle range here... I'm with Ed--the federal land managers are actually correct about this one...
Eric: Ed gave a very good overview of the history of the horse in the America's. I would only add that the horse evolved in North America and recent fossil discoveries in Alaska prove it was essentially a modern horse when it went extinct here -- most likely at the hands of early Asian hunters spreading into the New World. The question of the level of evolution and development of the North American horse when it was eliminated by man is politically important in that there are those of us who believe that the reintroduction of the modern horse was simply a return of an animal to its birthplace -- along the lines of the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone Park. Unfortunately, federal guidelines disagree. Under federal law, the wild horses of the west are considered "feral". As feral animals, they are restricted from most federal and state parks -- even though there is overwhelming evidence that they had once lived and thrived in many of these sites. In fact, California State Parks recently removed 40 wild horses from the Anza Borrego Desert State Park under the argument that as "feral" animals, they had no right to be there. If the designation of "feral" were removed, federal and state land management agencies would have to treat mustangs like they treat elk, deer or buffalo and the legal range of wild horses would increase dramatically. As to whether these horses, after nearly five centuries of running free in the west (with continuous additions of new stock), can be considered "wild," I simply invite you to try to get close enough to photograph one. These are wild animals in every sense of the term. Their populations increase and decrease in natural cycles that follow drought and good rain years. If you are interested in America's wild horses, I highly recommend the documentary "Cloud". After viewing that film, you will have no doubt that the mustang is as wild as the antelope, bear and deer.
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