NORTH CAROLINA — A group that manages herds of wild horses in coastal North Carolina is warning drivers to watch out for the animals taking advantage of unseasonably warm weather by sleeping on the sand at night.
Across the Carolinas, temperatures have reached the upper 60s and lower 70s and the Corolla Wild Horse Fund said the wild horses have been acting “more like it’s June, not January.”
Officials said the wild horses typically take shelter in forests off the beaches during the winter months to escape the cold wind.
The warmer weather, however, has brought them back to the beaches and into the path of recreational vehicles and cars.
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Daniel Myers said he was driving on Carova Beach when he encountered a herd of horses sleeping. He posted a picture of the horses on Facebook saying “Keep a lookout!”
Crashes are one of the leading causes of death among the Outer Banks herds. Last summer, one wild horse was killed and another was injured in two separate crashes.
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