矮種馬游泳及拍賣
地方性遺產
猜猜看，一群野生的矮種馬是如何抵達維吉尼亞州的阿薩蒂格島 (Assateague
Island) ，而它們的後代是如何定居在島上達300多年的？
沒有人知道這些矮種馬是如何登上阿薩蒂格島的，但有則神話表示它們是野馬的後代，而這些野馬則是自一艘失事的西班牙船(大型帆船)脫逃並游上岸的。最具可能性的推測是它們的祖先是在17世紀晚期，由逃避稅及躲避法律的美國本島居民在遷居阿薩蒂格島時一併帶來的。雖然它被稱為矮種馬，但他們實際上就是馬。它們以野草及海草為食，而惡劣的生存環境則使它們無法擁有高大的馬身，這也使得它們看來較一般馬兒短小。
現在的矮種馬已經分裂成兩群，一群生長於維吉尼亞州附近，另一群則生長於馬里蘭州附近，艾瑟題克島上的Chincoteague國家野生動物保護區 (Chincoteague
National Wildlife Refuge) ，每一群約有150匹馬。
Can you guess how a herd of wild ponies arrived at Assateague Island, Virginia, and how their offspring have continued to live there for more than 300 years?
No one knows how the "ponies" got on the island, but one myth says that they are descendants of mustangs that swam there from a shipwrecked Spanish galleon (a large sailing ship). The most likely explanation is that they are the descendants of horses that were brought to the island in the late 17th century by owners on the U.S. mainland who wanted to avoid taxes and laws requiring them to be fenced. Although they are called "ponies," they are actually horses. Their diet of grasses and seaweed and the harsh environment prevent them from growing to full size, which makes them look more like ponies.
Today, the ponies are split into two main herds -- one on the Virginia side and one on the Maryland side of the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island -- and each herd has about 150 animals.
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