Authorities have identified the person they say is responsible for the shooting of a wild horse on Assateague Island National Seashore park.
The 28-year-old mare was found dead by a hunter on January 15 and reported to park rangers the next day.
The bay mare carried the identification number N2BH. During her lifetime, she had foaled six times, and had 11 second and third generation offspring.
In recent years, she had been treated annually with contraceptives as part of a broader effort to maintain the size of the wild horse population at a sustainable level.
It is suspected that the shooting took place during the two-day January deer hunt, and the mare appears to have died immediately.
National Seashore's annual hunting program includes several gun seasons during the autumn and early winter.
The hunting program is used to manage resident deer populations.