CAROVA BEACH, N.C. — Wild horses are part of what makes the Outer Banks a booming tourist destination every summer.
The Corolla wild horses can be found on the northern beaches of Corolla and Carova, which are typically only accessible by four-wheel drive vehicles.
They’re technically wild, but the non-profit Corolla Wild Horse Fund protects, conserves, and manages the herd of about 100 horses that roam the beaches.
But last week, even the organization's team was surprised to hear about a rare sighting in Carova. A visitor captured a picture of Doe, a two-month-old foal living completely in isolation with her family on a remote sound beach.
Pictures of Doe and her mother Libba were taken during a boat ride around the sound.
The organization says a third horse, believed to be the father, is there too, but they couldn’t get close enough to identify him.
Most of the horses in the herd travel back and forth from the islands to the main beach, so to see a family away from the main beach area permanently is rare.
To make the sighting even more special, the Corolla Wild Horse Fund posted on Facebook, saying both the mom and foal are in excellent shape.
The horses often swim in search of food, which would explain how they’d end up on a remote island.
The discovery now brings the herd count to 101, with two more Colonial Spanish Mustangs you may be able to spot if you’re in the right place at the right time.
This winter, the team plans to return to the island to ID the horses and collect tissue samples for DNA.
They're hoping to identify that third horse seen with Libba and Doe, too.