Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/Banker horse

Banker horse

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This is the archived discussion of the TFAR nomination for the article below. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests). Please do not modify this page.

The result was: scheduled for Wikipedia:Today's featured article/January 21, 2016 by Brianboulton (talk) 17:18, 4 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Banker horse is a breed of feral horse (Equus ferus caballus) living on the islands of North Carolina's Outer Banks. Bankers are small, hardy, and of docile temperament. Descended from domesticated Spanish horses and possibly brought to the Americas in the 16th century, the ancestral foundation bloodstock may have become feral after surviving shipwrecks or being abandoned on the islands by one of the exploratory expeditions led by Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón or Sir Richard Grenville. Populations are found on Ocracoke Island, Shackleford Banks, Currituck Banks, and in the Rachel Carson Estuarine Sanctuary. Although they can trample plants and ground-nesting animals, and are not considered to be indigenous to the islands, Bankers are allowed to remain because of their historical significance. They survive by grazing on marsh grasses, for water as well as food, supplemented by temporary freshwater pools. To prevent overpopulation and inbreeding, and to protect their habitat from being overgrazed, the horses are managed by the National Park Service, the State of North Carolina, and private organizations. Island populations are limited by adoptions and by birth control. (Full article...)