Spain's wild horses are vanishing — despite preventing its forests from burning

17 hours ago

In the rolling, gorse-covered hills of Galicia's Serra da Groba, a wild mare grazes alongside her foal — both nibbling on the spiny bushes that many animals avoid. From above, a drone captures their quiet, purposeful movements. To the untrained eye, it's a peaceful scene. But to conservationists and locals, it's a snapshot of a disappearing way of life.

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Amid the rugged beauty of Serra da Groba, a Galician wild horse calmly grazes on spiny gorses, embodying the untamed spirit of Galicia’s highlands — Baiona, Spain. (Reuters)

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Martin Obelleiro Argibay, 32, and Adrian Quintela Mareque, 20, hold a foal for sale at the end of the 'Rapa das Bestas' (Shearing of the Beasts) festival in the village of Sabucedo, Galicia, Spain. (Reuters) 

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Martin Obelleiro Argibay, 32, and Adrian Quintela Mareque, 20, hold a foal for sale at the end of the 'rapa das bestas' or 'shearing of the beasts' in the village of Sabucedo, Galicia, Spain. (Reuters)

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After the close of the annual wild horse roundup in Sabucedo, Galicia, Spain, Martin Obelleiro Argibay, 32, and Adrian Quintela Mareque, 20, prepare a young foal for potential buyers at the traditional event known as 'rapa das bestas'. (Reuters)

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Locals and visitors work together to surround wild horse herds in the mountains before driving them into the enclosure, where the animals are dewormed and their manes are sheared, during the 'rapa das bestas' or 'shearing of the beasts', in the village of Sabucedo, Galicia, Spain. (Reuters)

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In the hills above Sabucedo, Galicia, participants gather to corral wild horses and guide them down to a temporary pen, where the animals undergo grooming and health checks as part of the centuries-old 'rapa das bestas' tradition. (Reuters)

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Deworming syringes lie ready for use ahead of the 'rapa das bestas' or 'shearing of the beasts', held in the Serra da Groba, near the village of Mougás, Galicia, Spain. (Reuters)

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A wild horse receives deworming treatment inside the enclosure during the 'rapa das bestas' or 'shearing of the beasts', in the village of Sabucedo, Galicia, Spain. (Reuters) 

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Laura Lagos, a researcher at the University of A Coruña, shows a map illustrating how herds of Galician wild horses divide the land and establish grazing zones across the heathlands of the Serra da Groba, near Baiona, Galicia, Spain. (Reuters)

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