Terri Farley

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Wild Horses Are Not an Invasive Species

New Science, Old Bones and Wild Horses

"It needs to be more widely understood that the horse's status as a native North American species is beyond serious question, " Dr. Ross MacPhee, curator American Museum of Natural History

©Terri Farley

CREATED FOR WILD AT HEART: MUSTANGS AND THE YOUNG PEOPLE FIGHTING TO SAVE THEM

Modern paleontology and sequencing of mitochondrial DNA is reflected in this equine clock which shows just how quickly horses returned to North America after they were wiped out along with other large mammals. Recent discoveries have narrowed the absence window since this graphic was created, causing many scientists to consider the possibility that pockets of North American horses may have survived even longer.

Labels: American Museum of Natural History, DNA, Dr. Ross MacPhee, equine, horses, mustangs, native species, paleontology, science, wild horses

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Posted by Terri Farley @ 2:52 PM 0 comments

Monday, June 10, 2013

Just What are the Perks of being an Indigenous Species?

Coyotes -- a species indigenous to the United States -- displayed in death on an Oklahoma farm

Please explain to me the advantage of being an indigenous species in the U.S., because I'm confused.
The "They're not even native!" protest surfaces as people fumble for why wild horses shouldn't be left to roam.
That argument grows shakier with new levels of DNA testing and recent fossil discoveries, but let's say it's true.
Just what are...

THE PERKS OF BEING AN INDIGENOUS SPECIES

Prairie dogs, skunks, raccoons, badgers, rabbits and ravens are considered vermin. As such, they don't even qualify for a hunting season most places. Plink away at will at those native varmints. Bears, bobcats, gray wolves, deer, elk, fox and pronghorn are indigenous, but I can knock on my neighbor's door and see them hanging on the wall, dead and taxidermied with ingeniously cast-from-fresh glass eyeballs.

To be fair, I hardly ever hear of nuisance hummingbirds.
They're not only natives, they can fly backward. Mustangs should work on that.

Native Alligators are spurring economic recovery in Louisiana. Swamp People-wannabes will pay to take to the bayous with guns, but I wouldn't call that a perk for the 'gator. Native centipedes and scorpions appear on reality TV, too, but they're likely to be Fear Factored to death.

Yeah, so, I'm probably missing something, because I can't see what wild horses will gain if they are proven to be a native species of animal.

Eaten, shot, hung on fences, walls...

And don' t get me started on the treatment of indigenous people.

Labels: indigenous animals, native species, vermin, wild horses

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