Baby wild horse spotted roaming Cape Lookout National Seashore on Outer Banks

A foal has been born to the wild herd roaming the Shackleford Banks at Cape Lookout National Seashore, the National Park Service reported this week.

It’s a boy and comes after a year that saw 14 members of the feral herd die, the park service said Friday in an annual report.

“Did we need some good news. And this mare delivered,” the Foundation for Shackleford Horses posted on Facebook. “First foal of the year on Shackleford! Welcome to the world, little man!”

Eight to 12 foals are born at Shackleford Banks each year, according to Margaret Poindexter, head of the foundation. However, she sees this birth as special, given it comes during the coronavirus pandemic.

Much of the Outer Banks is currently inaccessible to non-residents, as coastal counties try to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus on the barrier islands. However, the National Park Service has not closed Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras national seashores to visitors.

“Within the context of this pandemic and all the sadness and uncertainty that it has brought, it is reassuring to see the circle of life continue on Shackleford,” Poindexter told McClatchy News.

“Despite their harsh environment, devastating storms, human interference and encroachment, the horses seem to endure.”

Births are something to celebrate, because as much as a tenth of the wild mustangs can die each year, largely due to the harsh conditions, the National Park Service reported Friday.

There are currently 111 in the Shackleford herd, after 14 died last year. That was a 12 percent mortally rate, double the norm, the park said.

The herd, which is 62% female, has two males and 15 females over age 20, the park service says.

Two 26-year old mares in the herd are among the oldest living wild horses roaming the Outer Banks.

The Shackleford Banks horses are among at least three herds roaming the North Carolina coast.

A herd at Corolla, on the northern end of the barrier islands, reported its first foal of the season a few weeks ago.

This story was originally published April 18, 2020 at 9:29 AM with the headline "Baby wild horse spotted roaming Cape Lookout National Seashore on Outer Banks."