 |
Currituck's beautiful wild horses, descended from spanish mustangs, have survived
for centuries on Currituck Banks at the northern end of North Carolina's
Outer Banks barrier islands. The ancestors of these wild mustangs began
arriving
on North Carolina's barrier islands with the earliest explorers in the 1500's.
 | |
This fiery black stallion came charging over the dunes in pursuit of another stallion directly in front of the photographer. |
The
northernmost section of Currituck Banks consists of eleven miles
of remote
beach, dunes, pine and yaupon forests, and marshes bordered on the north
and south by two fences stretching east-west between the Atlantic Ocean and
Currituck Sound.
One
fence is
located at Corolla
on the south end, and the other is at Carova on the north end, paralleling
the North Carolina/Virginia border. The fences help protect these wild
spanish mustangs
from the explosion of population growth and construction that has nearly
smothered Currituck Banks during the last quarter of the twentieth
century.
Gulls rest on the horse fence at Corolla, which stretches into the ocean
to keep the wild mustangs from wandering south to paved roads and dangerous traffic. |
|
 |
The approximately
17,000-acre remote area supports around 100 of these spanish mustangs. It
is accessible only by off-road
vehicles because the Outer Banks highway NC 12 ends at the beach by the horse
fence at Corolla. From there travel is only up the beach, requiring a highway-licensed
4-wheel drive vehicle. ATV's are not permitted. No special permits are required
to
drive on the beach between Corolla and Carova at the NC/VA border, and visitors
flock
to see these fascinating animals.
The animals are
protected by ordinances that
prohibit anyone from approaching the horses closer than 50 feet. No petting, feeding
or harrassing of the horses is permitted. The area is patrolled by law enforcement,
and the protective ordinances are backed up by heavy fines.
| A black stallion keeps watch from the high dunes. |
|
|
|
| Help protect the Spanish Mustangs |
 |
|
