# Humans killing endangered Abaco horses // aka, Nunki, the last horse of her kind



## LoveAllSpecies (Jun 2, 2015)

I am so angry right now! I need to get this off my chest and maybe share some helpful information...

So a while ago I heard of a horse named Nunki. She is a mare that lives wild in the Bahamas, specifically Great Abaco Island. There used to be a few hundred of them on the island. They were brought there by Columbus and so are known for having rare genes, like special white coat patterns but without the health problems usually associated with white animals. Over time they evolved to live on an island climate.

But in the last century things changed. The island was being sprayed with herbicides and other chemicals. This made the horses infertile. Then one day a child was killed by one of the horses when he (or she, Idk) tried to ride one. Humans went out on a revenge killing spree. In the 1960s, there was one mare, one filly, and one stallion left.

But left alone they came back in greater numbers and remained healthy, for a while. Then things went downhill again, despite the horses being granted a reserve in 2003.

Now there is just 1 mare left, Nunki. She has no other stallion to breed with that is of her own kind. None.


There is a non-profit, "Wild Horses of Abaco" that is trying to save what's left of the breed. They have a stallion they say is, not the same breed, but similar. They want to take Nunki's eggs and place them in other mares. This allows many foals to be born at once. Nunki is fertile but she is old and has had a hard time giving birth in the past so they do not want her to go through another pregnancy (too much of a risk). One day, the "Abaco Spanish Colonial" breed may be restored, with a little out-breeding. But I wonder if that will truly happen. Every day is a day something can go wrong, this last winter Nunki became sick and almost died...

It just frustrates me to no end. Sure, a feral horse is not as high a priority as a true wild species, but there is no reason for them to go extinct, especially because it has been determined they do NOT damage the island environment and even have their own reserve. It's not as if they died because they weren't adapted to the climate- they are! It's just stupid people murdered them- ugh!

The only (possibly) positive thing I have to say is I found out the non-profit that looks after Nunki has entered a chance to win a prize. If they get enough votes, they win $50,000. With that, there is no doubt in my mind they COULD potentially make some real progress. They say they are ready to take Nunki's eggs but they just need the money for the procedure. If you want to vote (and I suggest you do!) follow this link. You can vote every day, but I'm not sure when the contest runs out of time. Right now they have 2213 votes. I want to see how many they end up with.

Here it is: http://eaglerarelife.com/content/milanne-rehor 

Opinions? I know some people don't see the point in preserving feral horses, but I do and I'd love to politely discuss the topic.


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