Man seen grabbing a wild horse’s face to pose for a photo

MOUNT CHARLESTON, Nev. (KVVU/Gray News) - A man was caught on camera grabbing a wild horse’s face to pose for a photo.

In the video, the man is seen messing with the horse’s face and grabbing at it to take selfies while at Mount Charleston in Nevada.

A Las Vegas wildlife photographer, who wished to remain anonymous, came across the man earlier this week while out on a hike at Mount Charleston and recorded his actions.

“When it first happened, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh that guy is going to get hurt, and he is going to get kicked,’” she said. “He is grabbing the horse by the face and the horse is obviously trying to resist and he is pulling his camera to take a picture.”

The photographer shared the video on social media in order to show others what you’re not supposed to do when you see a wild horse.

“You don’t handle a horse like that, he physically grabbed it trying to take a picture with him with at least five other cars yelling at him to get back in the car,” she said.

Mount Charleston is home to dozens of wild horses and burros. It is illegal to touch or handle the federally protected animals.

KVVU has done several reports about the wild horses becoming less afraid of humans as people get too close to them and feed them. Last year, a little girl was kicked by a wild horse after getting too close.

The USDA Forest Service is looking into the video, and said if this man gets caught he can face 6 months in jail or a $5,000 fine.