A 6-year-old wild stallion in the Shackleford Banks herd died Wednesday during an attempt to transfer him to the Rachel Carson Preserve.
The National Park Service said Friday the horse died suddenly and unexpectedly while under sedation.
“I am utterly devastated over the loss of the horse,” Jeff West, Superintendent of Cape Lookout National Seashore said in a statement. “We had such high hopes for this stallion helping out the Rachel Carson Reserve’s genetic viability.”
Margaret Poindexter, chairman and president of the Foundation for Shackleford Horses, said, “We are mourning the loss of this stallion and the loss to both of our herds.”
The horse was being taken from Shackleford Banks a few miles north to a similar habitat within the Rachel Carson Reserve. The park service said the transfer was being done through a partnership with the Foundation for Shackleford Horses and the N.C. Division of Coastal Management’s Coastal Reserve program.
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Wild horse protection
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The animals are managed under the Shackleford Banks Wild Horses Protection Act. Wild horses removed by the park service are turned over to the foundation to be placed for adoption.
This horse was to be placed with the state to join a wild herd living in the Rachel Carson Reserve in Beaufort. Officials said the stallion was chosen because its age, physical condition and social status made it a good candidate for moving to the other herd.
A news release said the stallion was sedated Wednesday morning using a drug that has been used with the herd for years, and it was done under the care of the park’s wildlife biologist and two horse veterinarians with the help of other park workers and volunteers. A vet monitored the horse’s vital signs continuously as it was being transported along the beach toward a vessel that would carry it to the reserve.
The stallion died suddenly during the transport process, the release said. Workers tried to resuscitate it but were unable to save it.
“This was a somber day for all involved, and we are committed to gleaning as much information as possible about why the horse suddenly died,” Paula Gillikin, central sites manager of the Coastal Reserve, said in the release. “The loss of the stallion won’t be forgotten as we continue our partnership to ensure that our local wild horse herds thrive into the future.”
The park service said tests would be done to determine a possible cause of death, including any unknown underlying conditions that may have contributed. Results may take several weeks.
Shackleford Banks is the southernmost island of the string in the Cape Lookout National Seashore and is home to more than 100 wild horses that survive with little help from man. They are a popular draw for tourists, who come to the island by private boat or passenger ferry to watch and photograph them.