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Horses belong in North America's Wild Places (1 Viewer)

I'm not suggesting the current populations should be removed (and of course its not entirely up to the US government at various levels, as you seem to have forgotten as usual the large bit of North American real estate to your North, which also has wild horses) but isn't your contention a bit like saying Columbian Mammoths belong in North America?

John
 
Farnboro John said:
I'm not suggesting the current populations should be removed (and of course its not entirely up to the US government at various levels, as you seem to have forgotten as usual the large bit of North American real estate to your North, which also has wild horses) but isn't your contention a bit like saying Columbian Mammoths belong in North America?

John
Click to expand...

Yes, except horses are extant and mammoths are extinct.
 
MarkGelbart said:
Yes, except horses are extant and mammoths are extinct.
Click to expand...

Yes, but I don't know about the USA, we have guidelines on reintroduction that say you have to use stock as close as possible to the original.

What horses are closest to ancestral American Horses? Koniks? Dartmoor Ponies, Shetland Ponies the white horses of the Camargue? Are you absolutely certain its not Przewalski's Horse (a different species?)

Do you want Lions back, by the way?

John
 
Actually lions wouldn't be bad, since one of the problems with horses is that they are a bit on the large size to be taken by any predator over most of their range in the US.

Although the native lion was a different species (probably). And yeah...the native horses in North America were probably of the Przewalski's Horse morph (which genetically isn't all that differentiated, IIRC from the domestic horse
 
Mysticete said:
Actually lions wouldn't be bad, since one of the problems with horses is that they are a bit on the large size to be taken by any predator over most of their range in the US.

Although the native lion was a different species (probably). And yeah...the native horses in North America were probably of the Przewalski's Horse morph (which genetically isn't all that differentiated, IIRC from the domestic horse
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No need to introduce Lions as a good population of Wolves would do the job. Failing that, a licenced hunting season would fulfill the role.

Chris
 
chris butterworth said:
No need to introduce Lions as a good population of Wolves would do the job. Failing that, a licenced hunting season would fulfill the role.

Chris
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Yeah but given the situation of wild cats in Asia and Africa, a population in America would act as a safeguard against extinction. Also, there is an inordinate amount of big cats in the US anyway, thanks to private ownership. Maybe if there were wild lions, there would be fewer people tempted to keep lions as pets. Anyway, I don't think hunting of feral horses will happen any time soon given the ridiculous taboo in (modern) Western cultures against eating horse meat.
Also, lions have a better press than wolves, whether justified or not. I'm all for re-introducing lions. And while we're at it, introduce some Amur tigers in Northern Europe, that'll defuse the "argument" of anti-wolf campaigners about the wolf not having "any natural enemies" ;)
 
Sangahyando said:
Yeah but given the situation of wild cats in Asia and Africa, a population in America would act as a safeguard against extinction. Also, there is an inordinate amount of big cats in the US anyway, thanks to private ownership. Maybe if there were wild lions, there would be fewer people tempted to keep lions as pets. Anyway, I don't think hunting of feral horses will happen any time soon given the ridiculous taboo in (modern) Western cultures against eating horse meat.
Also, lions have a better press than wolves, whether justified or not. I'm all for re-introducing lions. And while we're at it, introduce some Amur tigers in Northern Europe, that'll defuse the "argument" of anti-wolf campaigners about the wolf not having "any natural enemies" ;)
Click to expand...

I thought the French ate horsemeat quite happily? Mind you, latest evidence is that all of us have been doing for years, we just didn't know!

John
 
dantheman,
now THAT was an unexpected french translation.....well done.
As a side comment, the jaguar was still in the southeast US until the 19th century, and does a fine job of taking down horses...ask posters in central and south America (at a lot less risk to humans than lions). Let's work on protecting what we've still got left.
 
Farnboro John said:
Yes, but I don't know about the USA, we have guidelines on reintroduction that say you have to use stock as close as possible to the original.

What horses are closest to ancestral American Horses? Koniks? Dartmoor Ponies, Shetland Ponies the white horses of the Camargue? Are you absolutely certain its not Przewalski's Horse (a different species?)

Do you want Lions back, by the way?

John
Click to expand...

Genetic studies show the North American Pleistocene horse was the exact same species as the modern day horse.

Yes, I do advocate the introduction of lions to North America's National Parks.
 
Sangahyando said:
Yeah but given the situation of wild cats in Asia and Africa, a population in America would act as a safeguard against extinction. Also, there is an inordinate amount of big cats in the US anyway, thanks to private ownership. Maybe if there were wild lions, there would be fewer people tempted to keep lions as pets. Anyway, I don't think hunting of feral horses will happen any time soon given the ridiculous taboo in (modern) Western cultures against eating horse meat.
Also, lions have a better press than wolves, whether justified or not. I'm all for re-introducing lions. And while we're at it, introduce some Amur tigers in Northern Europe, that'll defuse the "argument" of anti-wolf campaigners about the wolf not having "any natural enemies" ;)
Click to expand...

Wolves disappear from areas where Siberian tigers roam.
 
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