Latest news with #MegPuckett
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Outer Banks wild horse dies after apparent fight with a stallion
Donner, a roughly 2-year-old Outer Banks wild horse, was found dead Wednesday. According to a Facebook post from the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, the colt likely was wounded during a fight with a stallion. His injuries included a broken neck. The post said the incident is just one of many challenges the horses face in the wild, and served as a reminder that there are no guarantees the foals will reach adulthood. 'While it is devastating to lose a healthy, young horse from the herd, this is what it means to be wild and free,' the post read. 'This kind of behavior may seem brutal to us, but it is a natural part of healthy herd dynamics.' Fights among horses are frequent, but rarely fatal, said Meg Puckett, fund director. However, she noted that in March 2023, a stallion suffered a broken leg from another horse's kick and needed to be euthanized. And that June, a mare was killed by a stallion who was aggressively trying to mate. 'Stallions fight very hard,' Puckett said. 'It could happen at any time, in any fight.' She said Donner likely entered a more mature stallion's territory. 'Donner was too young to be fighting over mares yet,' she said. 'A horse his age is still learning how to be an adult — learning how to fight, about manners and herd dynamics … He was inexperienced and not as strong as a mature stallion would be. 'I think he was probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong stallion. Horses have different personalities and some stallions are much more aggressive than others.' Donner was born in 2023. 'Donner's life was short, but it was wild from start to finish,' the post read. 'That is something to be celebrated, even as we grieve.'
Miami Herald
19-05-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Terrified newborn wild foal found trapped in Outer Banks canal, NC rescuers say
A newborn wild foal was left in a terrifying predicament when she became stuck in one of the canals that crisscross North Carolina's Outer Banks near Carova, rescuers say. The discovery was made around 8 a.m. Sunday, May 18, when a passerby spotted the tiny horse standing alone in neck-deep water along a canal bulkhead. It appeared to be cowering under a ladder, photos show. 'She either fell in or she was crossing with her family and just got accidentally left behind and then didn't know how to get out,' according to Meg Puckett, herd manager for the nonprofit Corolla Wild Horse Fund. 'They can swim just a few hours after birth so that's not an issue even if the water is deep but the bulkheads are definitely dangerous in cases like this. Luckily, she was in a spot where she could stand and keep her head above water.' There are about 100 horses in the wild herd and the older ones have learned where to easily exit the canals, but the newborn had no idea what to do, Puckett said. That made the situation potentially deadly. 'If no one had seen her, she would have become dehydrated and even more exhausted and probably would have eventually died,' Puckett said. 'I doubt she would have found her way out without help. So it was definitely an emergency and time was of the essence. I'm not sure how long she'd been in the water when she was spotted.' Finding the foal's mother proved easy, as someone else reported seeing 'a very distressed mare' standing in the same area, Puckett said. A rescue team was quickly mobilized and entered the canal to guide the foal out. She was then taken by truck to her mother's location, Puckett said. 'She is nursing and behaving normally (though understandably exhausted) and we will of course keep a very close eye on her over the next couple of days. Hopefully all's well that ends well,' Puckett said. The foal was born sometime between May 14 and May 17, and appeared to be in good health before the incident, officials said. It's common for wild mares to disappear into the maritime forest to give birth, then emerge days later with their foal, experts say. The Corolla Wild Horse Fund uses donations to tend the wild herd, including protection, medical needs and occasional rescues. Carova is about a 240-mile drive northeast from Raleigh at the northern end of the Outer Banks. It is home to one of several wild mustang herds that came to the Outer Banks aboard Spanish ships in the 1500s, historians say. Among the herds is one farther south on an isolated island within Cape Lookout National Seashore.
