Showing posts with label Assateague Island. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Assateague Island. Show all posts

Monday, January 29, 2018

Book Review - Wild Horse Scientists

Reviewing the Wild Horse Scientists
Assateague Island is a barrier island off the coast of Maryland. On that island lives a wild pony herd. In my opinion there is nothing better than relaxing on the beach during a day off, watching the wild ponies walk by. Meanwhile, behind the scenes there are people who work hard at managing the wildlife on this island - including working to keep this beautiful herd of horses safe and healthy. Wild Horse Scientists by Kay Frydenborg is an interesting and enlightening book that I recommend to everyone interested in horses, islands, or wild life management. 


Wild Horse Scientists



Wild Horse Scientists by Kay Frydenborg is listed as a Junior Library Guild Selection, a part of the Scientists in the Field series, and is marketed as a book for children. The Amazon product description lists it as age 10 and up and grades 5-9. But I must say, as an adult who has spent much time on Assateague Island, feeling exhilaration at the sight of the ponies, the book enthralled me.

Wild Horse Scientists follows the journey of several people who study and attempt to preserve the Assateague wild ponies via the least intrusive means possible. Left to fend and breed on their own, their life cycle would overpopulate the island. While there is no way to predict how many horses the island would support in any given year, and any given season, it is fact that overpopulation of the island would cause the untimely deaths of the ponies; among other environmental problems.

This small, 80 page book really packs a punch. It briefly addresses things such as:
  • The world history of the horse
  • How wild horse populations came to be in the US
  • Describing that there are two horse populations on Assateague Island; the Maryland end and the Virginia end. While the Virginia herds are the most well-known through history, the two herds are managed very differently.
  • Different ways of wild horse management through the US, through the years.
  • What PZP is and how it came to be
  • An idea of how the study of animals is very time consuming: familiarity with travel patterns, feeding, habits, reproduction, and being able to document each individual animal in order to keep accurate records.
  • Major Human Players

In Wild Horse Scientists, you will meet the following people who dedicate their lives to good works toward wild horses, wildlife, and the environment. If you have ever thought that wildlife protection and studies are easy and an enviable career, this will show you that this important work is not easy work. These talented folks have done far more than listed here, but this is a glimpse of the part they played in learning how to manage the Assateague pony population.

Dr. Jay Kirkpatrick – World renown for his advocacy of wild horses, wildlife reproductive expert, and developer of non-hormonal birth control (PZP).

Ron Keiper – An Ethologoist (studies animals in their natural habitat) who braved the weather, terrain, and flesh-eating insects on Assateague in order to provide information and begin providing individual documentation of the Assateague ponies.

Allison Turner – a 20+ year National Parks Service biological technician. She monitors the wild species, all of the wild species, on Assateague.

Dr. Lisa Ludvico – studied the reproductive strategies of wild mares – providing helpful information through reproductive behaviors and DNA analysis.

Dr. David Powell –his Doctorate consisted of exploring the social behavior and reproduction of wild horses; important information in considering birth control for wild horses.

Dr. John Turner – A research partner who led the research that resulted in improving the forms of PZP, making it longer lasting.

Robin Lyda - and had a large role in making and purifying PZP.

The “two BLM cowboys” with the Pryor Mountain Range mustangs whose request for help, in essence, was the beginning of the story.

These folks along with everyone behind the scenes worked hard at finding a way to manage the Assateague wild pony population. The controversy and issues surrounding the delicate balance of healthy horse herds in the US abound. Left alone, the book confirms that horses repopulate very quickly – causing environmental issues. Culling the herds is costly to both humans financial sources and to the emotional peace of the horses. Selling the horses for meat is distasteful in the US. And finally, removing foals from the mares in order to maintain the population has been statistically proven to make the mares produce more quickly.
Some of the beautiful ponies I've seen on Assateague


My Skepticism About Wildlife Birth Control



I bought the book with some bit of skepticism. Some years ago, after seeing newborn fawns (deer) in what seemed to me dangerously late in the season, I did a small bit of research. I thought I had read that trials of birth control being used in deer herds could cause mating season and birthing season differences. I do not recall at this time if the birth control being tried was PZP or other chemicals. And I did not follow this topic further. But I always worried about the impact of chemically altering the reproduction cycle of wild animals.

I purchased this book mainly because I loved the photographs when I had flipped through. I ended up learning quite a bit about wildlife contraception.

It appears that PZP has been created with a great deal of thought, research, and effort and seems to be doing a great job with managing the horses on the Maryland end of Assateague Island with no negative side effects. I am a believer.

This is good news and important work that may help wildlife management on so many levels.

Whether you read this for the beauty of the photographs of the ponies, to gain some Assateague Island experience from the comfort of your home, or to learn more about the science of animal birth control, I think you will love this little book.

I found this book during a day trip to Assateague Island National Seashore, I made a stop at the Barrier Island Visitor Center. I had toured the original Visitors Center, built in 1967. But I had yet to stop at the new Visitors Center that opened in the fall of 2010.

The Visitor Center is wonderful and will need it’s own review. I highly recommend that travelers to this area make time to stop and enjoy what this center has to offer. And I highly recommend this great little book called Wild Horse Scientists by Kay Frydenborg.





Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


Monday, June 2, 2014

Assateague National Seashore Visitor Center

Last week I wrote a review about the fantastic book I bought at the Assateague National Seashore Visitor Center.  Wild Horse Scientists  by Kay Frydenborg turned out to be a great purchase and I have paged through it several times since I wrote the review.  I also find myself continuing to think about the Visitor Center.

During my travels I have stopped at many visitor centers.  I have grown to think of them as places to quickly pop into, look for helpful pamphlets, ask a quick question if I have one, and skedaddle as soon as I use the restroom.  Over the years, I have begun doing my information gathering on the internet prior to the trip and tend to skip the visitor center altogether.

Following my stop at the Assateague National Seashore -Barrier Islands Visitor Center, I have begun to rethink my blasé attitude about visitors centers.  Some of them have so much more to offer than I thought.

In the United States, summer and summer vacations are upon us. Safe and happy travels to you, one and all. And don't forget to check out the visitor centers. 




Image Credit: Images are mine ©Dawn Rae – All Rights Reserved (Click on photo for larger view)



Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


Monday, May 26, 2014

5 Star Book Review: Wild Horse Scientists

Last weekend I made a day trip to Assateague Island, Maryland.  I met my oldest son and his girlfriend there for the day.  I have been there many, many times and it is one of my favorite places to be.

Luckily, during this trip, I was a bit ahead of schedule and I stopped at the “new” Visitors Center on the way.  I say new because it was built a few years ago but I just never bothered to stop. After all, I had visited the old Visitor’s Center, what more could I possibly be missing? But I stopped anyway and found a gem hiding inside.

Wild Horse Scientists  is a wonderful little book for children. However, I am quite certain that every adult who is a wild horse lover, barrier island lover, or who is interested in the process of wildlife preservation will love this book as much as I do.  This book gives an excellent explanation of how birth control is being used successfully on the ponies of Assateague Island.  I definitely would give this book a 5 out of 5 stars rating.

If you would like to see a list of more books related to that area, have a peek at my reading list.  I welcome you to help me read or review these books. Some of the books I have read and the remainder are on my to-read list. I’d love to know your thoughts about any or all of them. Angelatvs wrote a wonderful review of Assateague Island of the Wild Ponies  It was fantastic reading what she had to say about both the Island and the book I have on my to-read list.

During the times that I am not able to physically travel to the Island, I go there through the wonderful stories and photographs in books. And don’t forget that I’m your Mid-Atlantic States Travel Contributor onSquidoo.  If you want to travel this area from the comfort of your favorite chair, please come along with me.

Image Credit: Photograph ©Dawn Rae – All Rights Reserved

  








Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


Monday, March 10, 2014

The Squidoo Community Sharing Mid-Atlantic Tales

When I was an “aspiring writer” I imagined writing as a solitary endeavor.  That image in my mind has changed from pecking away at a clacking typewriter to the quiet whispering clicky-click of a laptop. But the image of the tousled-haired hermit bent over a desk has continued in my mind.

Since discovering the Squidoo community, I am learning that writing does not have to be a solitary thing.  Sure, I can’t chat away while doing the actual writing of a piece, but I know that my fellow Squidoo writers are only an instant message or email away.  It’s an amazing feeling to have all of this support while writing. I highly recommend that writers join the Squidoo community.

While I currently hold the title of Mid-Atlantic States Travel contributor on Squidoo, there are plenty of other writers who write amazing lenses about the area. While it’s hard to know exactly where to start, I’d like to share a few of these remarkable lenses with you today.

I’d like to introduce you to Ramkitten on Squidoo.  She is also known as Deb Kingsbury and is a hiking expert.  I have been interested about the Appalachian Trail and have read a variety of articles and books about the subject over the years. Some weren’t helpful and some were helpful but weren’t very entertaining.  Ramkitten gives information with a sense of humor that makes me laugh out loud for real.  I especially like her descriptions and humor in her lens Hiking the Appalachian Trail: What You Really Need to Know.

While lighthouses are not limited to the mid-Atlantic region, you can find Chesapeake Lighthouses by mbgphoto on Squidoo.  I had a hard time choosing just one of her lenses to share because she is an accomplished writer and photographer. All of her lenses are beautiful..

Angelatvs on Squidoo made me feel like a very happy writer when she jumped on my Review Your Favorite Assateague and Chincoteague Island Items and did a wonderful book review of  Aassateague Island of the Wild Ponies. If you like wild ponies, you should definitely check out this book review.

Speaking of Chincoteague, I am hosting a Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry book giveaway at my blog to help celebrate the magic of the islands. You can enter by filing out the raffle form on my blog until March 14th.

Until next Monday, happy and safe travels to you all. 


Image Credit: ©Dawn Rae – All Rights Reserved (Click on photo for larger view)






Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


Most Recent Reviews on Review This Reviews






Search for Reviews by Subject, Author or Title

The Review This Reviews Contributors



SylvestermouseSylvestermouseDawn Rae BDawn Rae BMbgPhotoMbgPhotoBrite-IdeasBrite-IdeasWednesday ElfWednesday ElfOlivia MorrisOlivia MorrisTreasures by BrendaTreasures by BrendaThe Savvy AgeThe Savvy AgeMargaret SchindelMargaret SchindelRaintree AnnieRaintree AnnieLou16Lou16Sam MonacoSam MonacoTracey BoyerTracey BoyerRenaissance WomanRenaissance WomanBarbRadBarbRadBev OwensBev OwensBuckHawkBuckHawkDecorating for EventsDecorating for EventsHeather426Heather426Coletta TeskeColetta TeskeMissMerFaeryMissMerFaeryMickie_GMickie_G

 


Review This Reviews is Dedicated to the Memory of Our Beloved Friend and Fellow Contributor

Susan DeppnerSusan Deppner

We may be apart, but
You Are Not Forgotten





“As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and or Etsy (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from purchases.” Disclosure Statement

X