The Danube Delta horses are a population of

feral horse A feral horse is a free-roaming horse of domesticated stock. As such, a feral horse is not a wild animal in the sense of an animal without domesticated ancestors. However, some populations of feral horses are managed as wildlife, and these ...

s in Romania. They live in and around

Letea Forest Letea Forest is the oldest natural reservation in Romania. It was established in 1938, when the Romanian Council of Ministers passed Decision No. 645 declaring the forest a nature reserve. It is located between the Sulina and Chilia branches of D ...

in the Danube Delta, between the

Sulina Sulina () is a town and free port in Tulcea County, Northern Dobruja, Romania, at the mouth of the Sulina branch of the Danube. It is the easternmost point of Romania. History During the mid-Byzantine period, Sulina was a small cove, and in th ...

and Chilia branches of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

. About 4000 feral horses live in the Danube Delta, 2000 of them in the Letea nature reserve*, where on one hand, they are among the last remaining "wild" (feral) horses living at large on the European continent,Project Proposed: Biodiversity Preservation in the Danube Delta - Letea Natural Reserve by saving the last wild horses in Europe and some protected vegetable species as well as developing methods to generate alternative incomes for inhabitants in the area
Arca lui Noe. Accessed October 2015. but are also deemed to be a threat to the flora of the forest,
(in Romanian), ''

Gândul ''Gândul'' (, "The Thought") is a Romanian online newspaper published in Bucharest. It was founded in May 2005 by Mircea Dinescu, who used to write a daily editorial called "Vorba lu' Dinescu", and Cristian Tudor Popescu Cristian Tudor Popes ...

'', February 25, 2009 including some plants on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Although there have been feral horses in the region for hundreds of years, their numbers greatly increased after the collective farms were closed down in 1990 and the horses belonging to them were freed."Caii sălbăticiţi distrug puieţii din Pădurea Letea"
(in Romanian), '' Adevărul'', October 12, 2007 The Letea population is not regulated and there are concerns that

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

is a looming problem."Natural and cultural grazing in the Danube Delta." Consultancy Herds and Homelands
/ref> The horses on Letea Island are

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

or bay, without white spots. They stand between and are strongly built. They are different from the smaller horses of Sfântu Gheorghe, which is nearby. They are not of a riding horse build, but are built like the working horses of Hungary. In 2002, some of these horses were captured and transported to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

for slaughter. Some organizations objected to removal, holding that the horses had value in being adapted to the location and possessing natural social behavior. Another push for removal and slaughter began in 2009, but horses cannot be currently removed from the area because a number of animals carry

equine infectious anemia Equine infectious anemia or equine infectious anaemia (EIA), also known by horsemen as swamp fever, is a horse disease caused by a retrovirus (''Equine infectious anemia virus'') and transmitted by bloodsucking insects. The virus (''EIAV'') is en ...

. Therefore, according to Romanian regulation, they are not allowed to be taken out of the quarantine area. Currently, there is an ongoing project, in collaboration with the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

, seeking to find a way to remove these horses.Dezastru ecologic: În Delta Dunării caii sălbatici distrug Letea
(in Romanian), '' Jurnalul Naţional'', January 15, 2009 While some organizations object to total removal and advocate for some animals to remain, others are attempting to find a different preserve for the horses to live.

References

External links

Wild Horses in Danube Delta - PhotosSaving Wild Horses of Danube Delta - VideoWild Horses in Danube Delta - Video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danube Delta Horse Danube Delta Feral horses Horse breeds Mammals of Europe