MISSOULA — For the first time in more than a century, a wild horse has given birth on Flathead Lake’s Wildhorse Island.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials say they didn’t know one of the four mares they transplanted to the island last June was pregnant beforehand, and the birth happened in the last couple of months. It was the first time the department placed female horses on the 2,000-acre island, 99 percent of which is managed as a primitive state park.
Up to five wild horses are allowed to run free on the land — a tip of the hat to a time when Indians kept horses on the island to protect them from rival tribes.
Island resident Barry Gordon told the Missoulian the news of the birth “made my day,” adding that “it really is Wildhorse Island now.”