“Went To Assateague Beach To Photograph The Ponies…”

Since 1925, the Assateague and Chincoteague ponies have been swimming across the Assateague Channel. Tens of thousands of spectators gather to watch the annual Wild Pony Swim. This year, one of those spectators, Nina, had a close encounter of the rude kind with one of the ponies.

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Nina is a photographer specializing in wedding and portrait photography. Although wildlife photography is not her usual genre, she exhibits excellent skill. When observing the Assateague ponies, there are strict rules. Patrons are not supposed to approach the animals. As you can see, the silly ponies are under no such constraint. This slide show displays Nina’s remarkable skill with the ponies.

The Assateague ponies are a herd of wild ponies that reside on Assateague Island. The herd is descended from domestic animals. They have become feral, or wild, over time. Folklore tells of a shipwreck off the Virginia coast as the origin of the herd. However, there are no verifiable records of that.

There are two herds of wild ponies: the Assateague ponies in Maryland and the Chincoteague ponies in Virginia. They are all descendants of the original domestic animals. The Assateague herd in Maryland is under the management of the National Park Service. The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company owns the Virginia Chincoteague herd.

A special-use permit issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allows the Chincoteague herd to graze on Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. To protect natural resources and the ecosystem, USFWS limits the herd size to 150 adult ponies.

Although the rude little pony was horsing around with Nina’s camera bag, she assures fans that the lens, which dropped in the sand, is okay. For more of Nina’s work, follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

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You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.