Cedar Island loses half of wild horse herd to Hurricane Dorian flood

While the wild mustangs of the Northern Outer Banks suffered no injuries or losses in Hurricane Dorian, more than half the wild horses on Cedar Island are thought to have died in the resulting storm surge.

Cedar Island is located south of the Outer Banks between Ocracoke and Cape Lookout. It’s home to a national wildlife refuge and a herd of roaming banker ponies. Prior to the hurricane, there were 49 wild horses on the island. Since, herd managers have accounted for 21.

Dead horses have been washing up on beaches, and others remain missing, the Associated Press reported.

Herd manager Woody Hancock told the AP the horses normally escape to higher ground, but said they didn’t have time as a “mini tsunami” overwhelmed the island during the storm.

The more well-known horses of Currituck’s Outer Banks rode out the storm “butts to the wind” and all came through unscathed. The penned ponies on Ocracoke Island and wild horses at Cape Lookout National Seashore also came through just fine. In fact, Cape Lookout added a new horse to the herd sometime during the storm.