Konik pony: Rare foals born at nature reserve in Cambridgeshire

Twelve foals have been born this season

Twelve rare pony foals have been born at a nature reserve in Cambridgeshire.

The foals are Konik ponies - a type of small, wild pony that originates from Poland.

Konik ponies have been bred since 2003 at the National Trust's Wicken Fen nature reserve in Cambridgeshire.

More than 200 foals have been born on the reserve since breeding started almost 20 years ago.

Not only are these pony babies super cute, they are also super helpful!

The way the ponies graze on the land helps to create habitats for other species of wildlife at the reserve.

Rangers have named 10 of the newborn ponies - Victor, Ginger, Rigel, Oliver, Argo, Pilgrim, Sprout, Sylvester, Pie and Beric - after horses in film and TV.

The two most recently born have yet to be named.

How will the foals help other species?

The Polish Konik ponies have been bred at Wicken Fen since 2003

A National Trust spokesperson said it was not possible to manage the expanding reserve using traditional methods of man and machinery, and so the animals were brought in to help.

"The animals help keep the landscape open and help wetland and grassland plants to become established," they said.

The ponies help simply by by being there!

They leave water-filled hoof prints and piles of dung as they go, which can help attract new species of flora and fauna to the lowland landscape.

What other animals are on the reserve?

Highland cows help to manage the landscape of the Fens

There are more than 9,000 species, including an array of plants, birds and dragonflies at the site.

Some of the newest members are four highland cow calves.

They were born earlier this week and are the 100th calves to be born at Wicken Fen since 2005.

Wicken Fen is the National Trust's oldest nature reserve and is one of Europe's most important wetlands, supporting an abundance of wildlife.