'Aggressive' Assateague Island horse permanently relocated to Texas sanctuary

Rose Velazquez, Salisbury Daily Times
·2 min read

The National Park Service said an "aggressive horse" has been relocated from Assateague Island National Seashore to a wildlife sanctuary.

The harem stallion Delegate's Pride — N6ELS-H, also known as "Chip" — has "become extremely aggressive" to visitors and staff in pursuit of human food or when staff try to redirect him or his band away from crowds, according to a Monday NPS news release.

The horse has been involved in more than half of the incidents since 2017 that have resulted in injuries for visitors, the NPS said. He is also resistant to non-contact methods park staff use to move other horses out of potentially dangerous situations.

More: Assateague pony dies after eating dog food

The harem stallion Delegate's Pride, N6ELS-H, also known as "Chip," has been relocated from Assateague Island National Seashore to Cleveland Armory Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Texas.
The harem stallion Delegate's Pride, N6ELS-H, also known as "Chip," has been relocated from Assateague Island National Seashore to Cleveland Armory Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Texas.

Delegate's Pride has been permanently moved to the Cleveland Armory Black Beauty Ranch, a wildlife sanctuary in Murchison, Texas.

"Unfortunately, reversing behavior once a wild animal has learned to associate people with food is extremely difficult. Removal often becomes the only option to manage a highly food conditioned animal, especially one causing the majority of negative and dangerous interactions with the public. We do not take these decisions lightly, but occasionally it is necessary for the safety of visitors and staff," the NPS wrote.

The Superintendent's Compendium dated May 2022 will soon include updated food storage regulations for campers on Assateague Island.

More: Officials: Don't leave the water on for ponies

More: Assateague horses love a 'pic-a-nic' basket. But save them from deadly human, pet food

Visitors are urged to take a proactive role in protecting the horses by complying with rules and regulations like the following:

  • Store food in a vehicle or in a strapped cooler placed inside the food storage under all picnic tables.

  • Maintain a distance of at least 40 feet from horses.

  • Never feed wildlife.

“All visitors need to take this food storage issue seriously and help us reduce the frequency of inappropriate interactions with the wild horses. The free roaming nature of the Assateague horses is what makes them so unique and special, but there are also issues like this that need to be addressed,” Superintendent Hugh Hawthorne said in a statement.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Assateague horse Delegate's Pride is relocating to Texas sanctuary