THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 28, 1995 TAG: 9503280244
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
A pair of wild ponies, one apparently pregnant, have strayed farther north than usual to graze on new spring grass at Little Island Park, just yards from Sandbridge homes.
The black stallion and reddish-brown mare, which have not caused any danger or destruction, are eliciting wonderment, and not worry.
``At first I thought somebody tied them up there,'' said Ivie Elliott, an Army Corps of Engineers surveyor who was surprised to see wild horses so close. ``They don't look too wild to me. I could ride one of these.''
Louis Cullipher, city agriculture director, said, ``You can't help but admire those horses, surviving for hundreds of years on the Outer Banks.
``But if they start to conflict with people, then certain management decisions will have to be made.''
Specifically, Cullipher is concerned about the animals wandering into the roads and onto private property.
The ponies' move to the city-owned oceanside park coincides with a weekend roundup of wild horses in Corolla, N.C.
On Saturday, 11 wild horses were gathered from neighborhoods and herded into a 1,800-acre fenced area at Currituck National Wildlife Refuge.
They joined between 35 and 150 other horses that have ranged freely between Duck and the Virginia border for at least 200 years.
The pair at Little Island Park are believed to be the same breed as horses that sometimes roam across the state border into False Cape State Park and Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
The two horses have been spotted around Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge over the past two to three months, said Joe McCauley, acting refuge manager.
``The horses haven't gotten that far in several years,'' he said. ``They mainly stay in the park and refuge. But with the new grass growing, maybe they could smell it.''
Genetic tests on the Outer Banks' wild horses and the horses occasionally found on Virginia Beach's barrier islands indicate they are of the same ancestry.
Some believe they are ancestors of Spanish mustangs that swam ashore from shipwrecks in the 1500s.
Others see them as ordinary domestic animals that escaped from or were freed by their owners, or as descendants from a time when the barrier islands were open range for common stock.
Dr. M.W. ``Tookie'' Myers, a veterinarian and local expert on these horses, describes them as medium-sized ponies. Most are reddish-brown, although some are black and some chestnut, with a black tail and mane. They are chunky in build with a heavy jaw and large hooves.
In 1991, the Back Bay refuge captured 16 of the wild ponies and sold them at auction. Refuge officials believe the horses are not native wildlife and said they were destroying food and habitat meant for migratory birds.
Two others got away - the lead stallion and mare - but were captured by the refuge two years later. Attempts were made by both the city and horse lovers to provide a safe home locally, but they were not successful. They were transported to Virginia's Appalachian mountains but did not survive the winter.
McCauley said the refuge does not actively try to capture the horses.
Refuge policy, he said, is to do nothing unless the horses wander into the fenced-in maintenance compound. If they pass through the fence, the gate will be shut and they will be sold at auction.
``It's important for people to realize, they are not Back Bay horses. We do not claim ownership,'' McCauley said. ``We will assist as we can if the people in Sandbridge or the city wants us to help.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
MORT FRYMAN/Staff
Two wild ponies, which have been spotted in the Back Bay National
Wildlife Refuge for the past two or three months, have wandered out
to crop greener pastures in the Sandbridge area. The city
agriculture director is watching for conflicts with human
residents.
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STAFF
by CNB