Wild Horses at False Cape State Park

a fence, just north of the Virginia-North Carolina border, is intended to keep wild horses out of False Cape State Park
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online

There is a North Carolina herd of wild horses north of Corolla, a remnant of the 5,000-6,000 Spanish mustangs that once roamed the Outer Banks. Currituck County has defined a Wild Horse Sanctuary area and advertises the herd as a tourist attraction. They are protected in that zone, up to the state boundary at False Cape State Park in Virginia Beach.

Though the National Park Service at Assateague National Seashore and the US Fish and Wildlife Service at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge manage wild horses as part of the landscape, the US Fish and Wildlife Service in northeastern North Carolina would prefer to eliminate the Corolla herd.

Some Federal lands, part of Currituck National Wildlife Refuge, are included within the Wild Horse Sanctuary zone. The US Fish and Wildlife Service prioritizes native species, so the horses introduced to the area by the Spanish are not welcome:¹

The Fish and Wildlife Service considers the horses to be non-native, feral animals and not a natural component of the barrier island ecosystem. These animals compete with native wildlife species for food and fresh water. Their activities degrade and destroy habitat which negatively impacts native species.

The Service actively manages critical habitat areas by erecting fences to keep the nuisance animals out and to prevent habitat damage.

A fence at the Virginia-North Carolina state line is intended to keep the wild horses out of False Cape State Park and Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia Beach. The fence stretches from the shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean westward into the marsh on Deal Island. The fence stops in the wetlands, and does not extend completely through the marsh.

In 2018, a band of six horses led by a young stallion known as "Lucky Duck" sought repeatedly to bypass the fence. The herd evidently planned to establish a new territory in Virginia, minimizing competition with other stallions in North Carolina.

The Corolla Wild Horse Fund, which manages the herd, relocated the band several times back into North Carolina. After multiple migrations back into Virginia, the six horses were taken off the Outer Banks and permanently transferred to the Corolla Wild Horse Fund's rescue farm.²

In 2006, a different herd led by a stallion named Red Feather crossed the border by swimming in the Atantic Ocean around the fence. After four horses in the herd were hit by cars in Virginia Beach, the horses were rounded up and transported to a rescue farm in Pungo.³

Horses in Virginia

Horses of Assateague Island

place names reveal the long heritage of wild horses near the Virginia-North Carolina border
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online

Links

• Bureau of Land Management
• Wild Horse and Burro Program
• Corolla Wild Horse Fund
• US Fish and Wildlife Service
• Currituck National Wildlife Refuge
• Virginia State Parks
• False Cape State Park
• Virginia Wild Horse Rescue
• Visit Currituck
  • Corolla Wild Horses
• Wild Horse Islands

References