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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Wildlife Wednesday: How Bout Them Broncos?

That's a pretty common thing to hear around Denver among football fans this time of year, and it begins many a heated discussion these days. However, I'm not going to talk about the strengths or shortcomings of the offensive line today. (Or any day, frankly. Not my thing.)
Today is Wednesday, and on Wednesday I talk about wildlife - specifically the preservation of wildlife. Broncos originated as a term that referred to a bucking horse, usually a wild or feral horse that had not been tamed or - in the common parlance - broken. These horses were often used in rodeos for the the bucking competitions. However wild horses are no longer used for that purpose thanks to the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971.
Many Americans are not aware of the fact that there are still wild mustangs roaming the west (and a few off the coast of North Carolina), but not many. There are roughly 25,000 mustangs left in the wild.
Here's a video I found on the cool website 5min.com:

Over the years since 1971, however, there have been some interesting interpretations of the protection law, so there are a few organizations out there keeping an eye on these horses' freedom. Check out the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign if you'd like to find out more.

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