Critically endangered Banker Horse species gets a newborn

COROLLA, N.C. (WAVY) — It is a win for wild horse conservation as herd managers along the Outer Banks celebrate a new pony.

The newborn, Eros, is a Banker Horse, a critically endangered species with only about 300 left in the world, according to Meg Puckett with the Corolla Wild Horse Fund.

They have to watch these herds from a distance, doing what they can to preserve the herds without interfering with nature. Any newborn foal is a win for the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, but this one specifically is getting herd numbers back on track.

Pictures and video show Eros with his herd along the coastline of Corolla. He is the first newborn of the year for the Banker Horse herd, likely foaled in early February. Eros is getting the herd population just a notch above what it needs for genetic diversity. The minimum population is 110, and Eros puts them at 111.

Herd managers deal with a lot of environmental challenges to keep the population in check.
An increase in development and people, creating more things trash and septic systems, make it tough on the horses. They also deal with habitat changes brought on by climate change. The conservationists who work with the state horse of North Carolina believe preserving this herd is critical.

“They have a place in history,” Puckett said. “We are tasked with preserving that. As they lose habitat, as we lose places like Corolla to development to climate change and everything, we just have a responsibility to do our best to make sure that they stay here fro hundreds more years.”

They ask neighbors and visitors to keep their distance from the Banker Horses. You are allowed to watch them — but if they notice you, that means you are too close. People are also being urged to not feed the wild horses or interfere with them.