Ponies rescued after wandering around Mount Toro area for weeks

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) -- The owners of three ponies found wandering on Mount Toro for over a month are being sought after SPCA Monterey County staff were able to rescue the ponies this week.

SPCA Monterey County says their humane officers found the ponies on Mount Toro off the end of Coral De Cielo Road.

A resident had called in to the SPCA saying the ponies had been loose for over a month. The resident told the SPCA they were able to lure the ponies into a pen using hay.

"At this point we don't know if they're stray ponies, or if they were deliberately abandoned," said SPCA Humane Investigations Supervisor Jacob Duarte. "They were found in an area that was severely damaged during the River Fire, so they could have escaped through a back fence."

Duarte says the SPCA didn't receive any calls over the past few weeks about missing ponies.

Investigators are now looking for the owners of the ponies, described as two mares and a gelding.

Anyone with information can contact the SPCA at 831-373-2631