Help Protect
The
Wild Spanish Mustangs
by supporting the
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Corolla's
Wild Mustangs
Before
highway NC12 was built between Duck and Corolla in the mid
1980's there was little habitation north of the small village
of Duck, except for Corolla, which centered around the Currituck
Beach Lighthouse and the Whalehead Club. Corolla seemed a world
apart, isolated beyond public roads in the remote northern
area of Currituck Banks. The whole area was open for the wild
mustangs to roam freely.
When the highway
came and connected Duck to Corolla, the tiny village with the red brick lighthouse
was opened to the world, and everything began to change. Paved highway access
brought people and cars by the thousands. Miles and miles of once remote uninhabited
beaches became continuous strips of multi-story beach houses and condominiums.
The transformation was mind-boggling. With so many people and so many cars on
a narrow, twisting highway it became inevitable the wild roaming horses would
be the loosers.
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Very
soon the wild mustangs' deaths and injuries mounted as cars
and horses collided. In 1989 the Corolla
Wild Horse Fund was
formed to heighten public awareness of the problem. Eventually
about 7500 acres of remote land several miles north of Corolla
was defined as a sanctuary for the horses. Within five years
the wild horses were relocated north of Corolla, past where
highway NC12 ended. Here they would be kept safe from the dangerous
highway traffic, beyond a fence
that had been constructed all the way across the island from
Currituck Sound to the ocean. A similar fence also crossed
the island on the northern edge of the protected area at the
Virginia state line which kept the horses from wandering
north into a preserve in Virginia. On the face of it this seemed
as ideal a solution as could be found under the circumstances.
The trade-off
for use of this remote area was the stipulation that the herd be limited to
no more than 60 horses. However, it soon came to light that 60 horses was an
insufficient
number to provide a viable gene pool. Unless a solution to this dilemma can
be found, genetic
defects
will inevitably begin showing up and eventually spell an ugly end to the freedom
of these
magnificent, rare and endangered wild Spanish
mustangs.
The restriction
on herd size came about because of conflicting interests between the individuals,
agencies and organizations who own much of
the
land
in
the horses' new home. There are fears the horses may interfere with other wildlife
uses of the land. Finding common ground is not easy.
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