The Horse and Burro as Positively Contributing Returned Natives in North America

Abstract

Since the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, debate has raged over whether horses and burros are restored North American natives. Fossil, genetic and archeological evidence supports these species as native. Also, objective evaluations of their respective ecological niches and the mutual symbioses of post-gastric digesting, seminomadic equids support wild horses and burros as restorers of certain extensive North American ecosystems. A Reserve Design strategy is proposed to establish naturally self-stabilizing equine populations that are allowed to harmoniously adapt over generations within their bounded and complete habitats. These populations should meet rigid standards for viability based on IUCN SSC assessments (2,500 individuals). Basic requirements are described for successful Reserve Design including viable habitat as well as specific regions of North America where this could be implemented.

Histological variability in the limb bones of the Asiatic wild ass and its significance for life history inferences

“…However, since the study of Köhler et al (2012) that demonstrated the correlation between cyclical bone growth and seasonal physiology in a wide sample of ruminants, the number of histological works in extant ( Marín-Moratalla, Jordana & Köhler, 2013 ; Marín-Moratalla et al, 2014 ; Jordana et al, 2016 ; Nacarino-Meneses, Jordana & Köhler, 2016 ) and extinct mammals ( Martínez-Maza et al, 2014 ; Kolb et al, 2015b ; Amson et al, 2015 ; Moncunill-Solé et al, 2016 ; Orlandi-Oliveras et al, 2016 ) has considerably increased. Among all mammalian clades, members of the family Equidae play a key role in extant and fossil ecosystems ( MacFadden, 1992 ; Downer, 2014 ). Besides, they are a classical group of research in Paleontology due to their characteristic evolution ( MacFadden, 2005 ).…”

Rethinking Horse Domestication in North America: New Insights through

“…In this context, horses were not entirely foreign to them; rather, they held significance in their collective memory, religion, and culture, and these animals made a reappearance. Recent results of genetic studies, elemental isotope analysis, and carbon-14 dating unequivocally confirm that horses owned by the indigenous inhabitants of New Mexico were present before Spanish colonization and before any European set foot on the American continent (10,28). It has been established that these horses were genetically related to Iberian horses.…”

“…Similarly, Ewers noted that the Blackfoot tribe (Siksika) did not associate the presence of horses with settlers; instead, they held their own theories about the origin of horses. This theory finds support in new finds, including a petroglyph from Alto de Pitis, Peru, depicting a rider on a horse (dated 3,000-1,000 BCE), a geoglyph from the Mojave Desert near Blythe, Southeast California (dated to c. 900 AD), split-twig figurines from Stanton's Cave in New Mexico depicting horses and petroglyphs, pictographs, geolyphs, and figurines, carvings of horses from Mayan temples in Yucatan (dated to 1000-2000 BCE) (9,10). The presence of horse reliefs in Mayan temples in Central America provides new insights into how indigenous people responded to horses, as described by the Spaniards.…”

Peer Review #1 of "Histological variability in the limb bones of the Asiatic wild ass and its significance for life history inferences (v0.1)"

“…However, since the study of Köhler et al (2012) that demonstrated the correlation between cyclical bone growth and seasonal physiology in a wide sample of ruminants, the number of histological works in extant (Marín-Moratalla, Jordana & Köhler, 2013, Marín-Moratalla et al, 2014Jordana et al, 2016; and extinct mammals (Martínez-Maza et al, 2014;Kolb et al, 2015b;Amson et al, 2015;Moncunill-Solé et al, 2016;Orlandi-Oliveras et al, 2016) has considerably increased. Among all mammalian clades, members of the family Equidae play a key role in extant and fossil ecosystems (MacFadden, 1992;Downer, 2014). Besides, they are a classical group of research in Paleontology due to their characteristic evolution (MacFadden, 2005).…”