Are mustangs merely horses?
I just finished this month’s issue of National Geographic Magazine and find, among other interesting or informative articles, a story about mustangs in America’s Old West especially thought-provoking. The article mourns about the shrinking habitat for mustangs (“wild horses” or feral horses) and possible loss of a valuable animal (I would reserve in saying it unique) and the spirit behind it. The preservation of mustangs in my opinion has a larger symbolic purpose rather than a biological or ecological one. As pointed out in the NG article, the mustangs may very likely be the descendant of horses brought by Spanish conquista c. 1519. Genetically they may have little or none difference from the original Iberian species or other domestic species produced in the U.S. later. Preserve mustangs therefore is saving meme instead of saving gene, which is rare practice in animal conservation. Considering the huge investment in the conservation of mustangs, I think I have the right to ask as a by
