Sable Island horses could fade into memory, according to a report commissioned by Parks Canada. Inbreeding in a declining population could take its toll.
Weather is another challenge to the wild creatures, that number about 500 on on the sand crescent 175 kilometres off the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia. Increasingly harsh winters, brought about by global warming, may destroy food sources for the feral animals.
it is believed these naturalized horses are descended from animals that were confiscated from the Acadians when the British expelled them from Nova Scotia in the late 1750s and 1760s
While the possibility is sad news for many, some ecologists welcome the coming extinction, as the horses are viewed as an invasive species that ruin the fragile ecosystem on the 30 square-kilometre island.
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