#brian clopp

[sitting-on-me-bum]

“Kit Foxes”

by Brian Clopp, USA

2024 Nature’s Best Photography Awards

[barnsburntdownnow]

In celebration of Colorado's first-ever Horse Protection Month, we bring you the remarkable story of the stallion, Merlin, and the foal, StellaLuna.

She couldn’t be more than three days old. But she found herself completely alone on over 150,000 desolate acres of Colorado’s public lands. This was after she and her mother, a mare named Serendipity, were stampeded by low-flying helicopters and became separated the day prior.

The next day, advocates on the ground at the roundup spotted her: a tiny newborn foal being accompanied by, they assumed, her mother. But a closer look revealed that she was actually trotting alongside Merlin—a well-known local stallion!

Merlin, who should have been taking cover miles away from the dangerous helicopter roundup, set aside his instincts for freedom—and put the foal's survival above his own: he bravely escorted the parched newborn to the trap site, where the foal immediately received the care she needed. In this act of selflessness, Merlin sacrificed his freedom. He was captured.

That could have been the end of his story, but it wasn’t. The next day, Merlin took a huge leap of faith and jumped over the metal panels standing between him and the open range. Today, he still remains free and the foal, known as StellaLuna, is safe at the For the Love of Aria sanctuary in Colorado!