Animals living in their ancestral environment off the coast of Nova Scotia struggle to find food, but appear to have developed a resistance to certain parasites
Researchers studying the carcasses of Sable Island's fabled wild horses have discovered many had unusual levels of parasites, suggesting they are tougher than most horses, even as many died of starvation.Researchers studying the carcasses of Sable Island’s fabled wild horses have discovered many had unusual levels of parasites and sand, suggesting they are tougher than most horses, even as many died of starvation.
Jenkins said conditions on the windswept, 42-kilometre long island were particularly harsh in the early spring of 2017, and that had an effect on the horse population. She said the overall findings were “very similar” to a previous study carried out by graduate student Daniel Welsh in 1972.“The main finding was emaciation or starvation and hypothermia, especially for the young horses,” said Jenkins, who noted vegetation is sparse on Sable during that time of the year.“All of the young horses we looked at were just basically out of reserves,” Jenkins said. “They had nothing left, they were emaciated.
The 2018 trip, meanwhile, focused more on looking for pathogens and diseases, and that’s where Jenkins said the researchers were able to find things such as respiratory and reproductive diseases including a parasite lungworm.
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