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Last Ionian Wild Horses Find Protectors KEFALONIA, Greece, April 19, 2002 (ENS) - Only 22 wild horses remain on the Greek island of Kefalonia, ranging the steep pine covered slopes of Mount Ainos in search of food and water. The summer of 2001 was the driest for 110 years on Kefalonia, and the winter was one of the harshest on record. Due to these environmental conditions, the wild horses of Mount Ainos are under a greater threat of extinction than ever before.
To address this situation, a nonprofit group of concerned volunteers, both local and European, has formed under the direction of Sue Thompson. The Environmental League for Animals in the Ionian (ELATI) is working to make life easier for the few wild horses that remain on Mount Ainos. Sue, from Wales, and her husband Ian, from England, have lived on Kefalonia for seven years. Unique tour guides, they take visitors to see the best of the island and its ancient heritage. Their maps and guide book, "The Way To Go on Kefalonia" are the result of years of research. It was while doing this research that Thompson "accidentally" found the wild horses. For four years she watched the tiny herd on Mount Ainos and let them watch her, until one day last year the white stallion she called Blondie, "deteriorated in a matter of weeks in front of my very eyes from a proud and majestic beast into a frail and fragile old man." "Whilst filming on Mount Ainos with Discovery Channel in August of 2001 we videoed Blondie, the last remaining majestic white stallion. He had a problem with his front knee and was lame, but other than that looked to be in good shape. Just six weeks later, Thompson said, "he had lost over five stone and was hardly capable of even limping anymore."
Knee problems and an old break were the main cause of his rapid degeneration. Thompson vowed she would never see an animal in that state ever again. Kefalonia, which lies off the west coast of Greece in the Ionian Sea, is the largest of the Ionian islands. The mountainous island is topped by 5,100 foot Mount Ainos, the third highest mountain in Greece. The mountain is covered by a rare black pine forest which was declared a national park in 1962. The mountain is crowned by radio and television towers as well as a NATO radar base. The Ainos horses are not a recognized breed, but are classed as a Type B Mountain Pony," Thompson explains. They belong to the mountain breed of Greek horses descended from the Pindos breed of horses, which were captured from the wild and sold in the fairs held in Arta and Aetoloakarnania. Three ancient breeds of Greek horses are now extinct - the Achaean, Thessalian and Thracian. The 22 wild horses range the southeastern slopes of Mount Ainos. They share a single water source, a natural spring, with over a 1,000 other grazing animals that also live on the slopes, as well as with wild mammals, reptiles, and birds. The other grazers are sheep and goats whose owners supplement their diet with feed bundles placed in pens fenced with wire to keep the horses out. The horses must navigate through the stones, rocks and boulders that surround the spring, so they suffer the effects of twisted knee joints that later turn to arthritis. ELATI spokesperson, Elizabeth Livieratos of Chicago, says, "The cruel summer and harsh winter of 2001 brought the plight of the wild horses who live on the mountain into real focus. We are all witnessing the decline of this majestic breed for no good reason other than bureaucracy." This breed of horses does exist in Arta, a region just south of the Pindos mountains on mainland Greece north of neighbouring Lefkada. In this region, says Thompson, "These horses ironically are breeding at such a rate that the government is literally giving them away if people pay for the cost of capture and shipping."
But on Mount Ainos, conditions for the wild horses are severe. The lack of water in the summer heat dries up the vegetation, a crucial link in the food chain for the horses, leaving their basic food supply depleted from mid-July until mid-December when the winter rains have had enough time to encourage the growth of new grasses. By the time the new shoots start to grow, temperatures on the mountain have dropped so it is far too cold for the horses to stay around their water supply and find food. Between the icy winds and driving snow in winter and the blistering summer sun, life is difficult for the 22 surviving horses. Livieratos says, "No one wants to admit to the responsibility of their welfare and well being." ELATI volunteers plan to improve the landscape around the spring where the horses get their water by removing boulders and rocks. They have plans to build shelters to protect the horses from the extremes of weather, supply veterinary medications, and implement a feeding program to supplement the natural food supply during the critical months. ELATI will maintain an observation and monitoring program to identify and rectify any further problems for the horses before they become serious. Once these improvements are made, will the horses of Mount Ainos still be wild? The answer, says Thompson, is dependant on your interpretation of the word wild. "We prefer to think of these horses as a highly intelligent life form that exists in a natural environment as opposed to domesticated conditions and as such are classed as wild."
"Supplementing these horses' natural food during the late summer months when lack of rain produces inadequate amounts, and then ice and snow during the winter cover the already depleted ground, can only be classed as assisting the environment in order to assist the horses," Thompson reasons. A feeding program introduced slowly in the form of vitamins and supplements will be accepted by the horses as a newly discovered source of food, Thompson says. "Supplementing the inadequate natural shelters such as caves and trees with other forms of shelter is again seen as improving the natural habitat and increasing their chances. The removal of stones from around the watering area and along their known routes reduces the incidence of leg injuries." ELATI sees veterinary aid as "a humane solution to aid an injured animal be it wild or domesticated." "Considering all the above, then would it matter if they were no longer called wild? Thompson asks. ELATI's goal is to ensure that the horses remain in their natural chosen habitat and live an unobstructed existence "in the wild." Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2002. All rights reserved. |
Wild horses on Mount Ainos, Kefalonia (Photos courtesy ELATI)
Blondie, the last white stallion on Mount Ainos, ill on September 28, 2001 (Photo by Sue Thompson)
A natural spring, the only water source for the wild horses 
Horses on Mount Ainos 