Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs Recent large-scale aerial and ground searches of K’gari have revealed no evidence of feral horses, with rangers believing the population to have now been completely removed.Rangers from the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service conducted routine searches across the island, assisted by drones, in 2022 and 2024.Senior ranger Linda Behrendorff said it had been five years since the last confirmed sighting of a feral horse on the state-protected island.A feral horse captured on camera on K’gari in December 2016.Credit: Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation“Rangers haven’t found any evidence of feral horses … and we believe the last horse died naturally, which is great news for K’gari’s unique environment,” she said.“Visitors and residents may recall some habituated horses became assertive, approaching and kicking vehicles and biting people.” Behrendorff added wild horses caused erosion on K’gari – which is the largest sand island in the world – competed with native animals for food, and helped spread weeds.“Adult healthy feral horses were too big to be hunted by dingoes,” she added.Horses were introduced to K’gari in the late 19th century, where they were bred for use in the English Army in India and later to haul timber for loggers. Feral horses descended from stock left behind on the island.K’gari’s wild horse population was estimated at 30 horses in 2000, although efforts to capture and relocate the horses from 2003 removed most of the population by 2005.Behrendorff said rangers would continue to monitor for invasive species on K’gari, encouraging people to report horses, as well as other threats “such as pigs, cats or foxes”.
