The last Sable Island horse in captivity has died

Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Provincial Wildlife Park has said goodbye to a very special resident — a 30-year-old Sable Island horse.

The animal's health had started to decline and veterinarians euthanized him last weekend.

Other than on Sable Island, the park was the only place in the world to see one of the little horses.

"The public is definitely sharing their condolences with us. It was such a unique creature to have," Tabitha Cox, head nature interpreter at Shubenacadie Provincial Wildlife Park, told CBC Nova Scotia News at 6.

"We're definitely going to miss him."

Located about 300 kilometres off the southeast coast of Nova Scotia, Sable Island is a 42-kilometre sandbar that has supported a population of feral horses since the 18th century.

The horse did not have a formal name, Cox said, because the animals at the park are wild animals.

Cox said the horse was the last Sable Island horse not living on the island. As the island — now a federal reserve — isn't readily accessible to the general public, Cox said the animal was a particular highlight for visitors to the park.

"I think getting any more is probably unlikely, especially to put an animal in captivity when they are in the wild there. They are under the protection of Parks Canada living out on that reserve," she said.

Horses on the island have a shorter lifespan of about eight to 10 years, Cox said.

"So 30 is a good life for sure."