A combination of Eastern Equine Encephalitis and a heavy load of internal parasites have claimed the life of a wild horse on Shackleford Banks. This is the first documented case of EEE among the herd of 107 horses, which the Park Service has been managing since the mid 1980's.
Branded horse on Shackleford Banks
A necropsy reports the Shackleford horse had a heavy infestation of internal parasites along with the Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus.
© 2012 by Lori von Gretener
A necropsy done in Raleigh, North Carolina, reports the horse carried a heavy infestation of internal parasites along with the encephalitis virus. Officials noted that the herd of horses is managed as wild life and it is impractical to vaccinate the horses against the EEE virus.
Shackleford Banks, the southern-most barrier island in Cape Lookout National Seashore, is home to more than 110 wild horses. This is one of the few places in the eastern United States where wild horses can still be seen. Shackleford Banks is approximately nine miles long and averages less than a mile wide. It contains many habitats, unique to barrier islands, which support the horses.
Like the western mustangs, eastern horses were reintroduced to North America by European explorers and settlers. Records show horses living on the Outer Banks for centuries. Genetic research shows evidence of Spanish ancestry in the Shackleford herd.