A bold and aggressive member of the famed wild-horse herd on Assateague Island in Maryland was removed from the national seashore recreation area Monday after becoming a threat to visitors and employees, according to the park.

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       Since 2017, the banished horse, a stallion known as Chip, has been involved in more than half of all incidents that have injured visitors to the Atlantic coast recreation site, the Assateague Island National Seashore said Monday in a statement.

       The wild horses of Assateague are a major Maryland tourist attraction, drawing visitors to the state and its Atlantic shore from all over the world.

       Safety sometimes requires removal of a member of the herd, the park indicated Monday, but reports of such a step appear rare.

       The exiled stallion, which also bears the more formal name of Delegate’s Pride, will be sent to a wildlife sanctuary in Texas, the park said.

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       Complaints about the stallion’s removal appeared on the Facebook page of the Assateague Island Alliance. The alliance describes itself as a nonprofit group set up to protect the island’s wildlife and natural resources.

       Those posting comments objected that the horse was being removed from home and family because of failure of visitors to follow park rules, particularly those on keeping food from the animals.

       “You just changed the whole dynamics of the island, you broke up a family, stressed a mare ready to foal and left them unprotected,” read one comment.

       “Chip did what he was born to do provide and protect his family and you punished him for it because rules are not enforced or followed,” the complaint added.

       It was not clear Monday how he was removed from Assateague or how or when he will travel to Texas and what the park said will be his new home at the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch.

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       In reporting Chip’s exile, the park described intractable behavioral problems. Chip, the park said, “had become increasingly aggressive towards park visitors and staff.”

       This occurred, according to the park, when he tried to get human food or when staff members tried to get him or horses that followed him away from spots crowded with visitors.

       In addition, the “non-contact” methods used to move other horses out of potentially harmful situations did not work with Chip, the park said.

       When wild animals lose fear of humans and get food from them, intentionally or accidentally, they are regarded as food-conditioned, the park said. Once acquired, the park said, such conditioning is not easy to unlearn.

       Chip was regarded as “highly food-conditioned,” according to the park.

       Horses may become accustomed to getting fed willingly by visitors and may also come to depend on improper storage techniques.

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       Decisions to remove animals such as Chip from their home turf are not taken lightly, the park said, but are sometimes necessary when the animals have a history of causing injury.

       In its statement, the park urged visitors to protect the horses by following all rules and regulations and to never feed the horses, attract them with food or leave food for them.

       Visitors, the statement added, shared responsibility for helping prevent food-conditioning or behavioral changes that could lead to removal of the horses “from their island home.”