17th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
The stallion and the woods

I had been surveying for our endangered red squirrels, deep in a private woodland here in the North of Ireland. For around an hour I had heard strange noises around me and attributed it to fallow deer known to reside in the denseness of these trees. To my surprise, when I finally spotted the anomalous noise, it was the fabled black feral stallion that was said to roam these woods. The land owners have no idea where he came from, but I'm glad he was there, as I got to share this magical moment capturing his highness roaming throughout the expanse of his little known kingdom.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 06.2019
Date Uploaded: 06.2019
Photo Location: Coleraine, United Kingdom
Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Copyright: © Justin Judge