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Miami Herald

‘Angel' wild horse guards sea turtle nest on NC's Outer Banks, photo shows

A rare instance of a wild horse appearing to guard an endangered sea turtle nest was witnessed by tourists visiting North Carolina's Outer Banks. A photo taken July 6 by Wild Horse Adventure Tours shows the horse reclining on the sand, staring through protective tape spooled around the incubating eggs. The eggs require 40 to 60 days to hatch — a period fraught with risk on a beach where off-road vehicles are allowed to drive at speeds of up to 35 mph. 'Everybody gets excited when there's a new turtle nest — and it looks like this one has an extra special guardian keeping watch,' the Corolla-based tour company wrote in a July 7 Facebook post. 'It's been an active season for turtle nesting this year.' The post had racked up 7,800 reactions and comments as of July 10, including some from people who reported witnessing the 'once in a lifetime' moment. 'That's no horse, it's an angel,' MC Mecha posted on the tour company's Facebook page. 'The horse is very smart! Knowing it's protected (the eggs) from all the crazy tourists driving recklessly,' Lori Warren Cole said. 'So undisturbed by the going ons,' Lonna Arnold wrote. A herd of just over 100 wild horses roams the Corolla area of the northern Outer Banks. They are tended by the nonprofit Corolla Wild Horse Fund, which shares volunteers with sea turtle programs such as the Network for Endangered Sea Turtles. 'I thought that picture was so cool,' Corolla herd manager Meg Puckett told McClatchy News in an email. 'It's really hard to imagine something like that would happen and be caught on camera. Where else in the world, right? It's a reminder of what a special place it is.' North Carolina's beaches are 'vital nesting grounds for loggerhead, green and Kemp's Ridley turtles,' the Network for Endangered Sea Turtles reports. Corolla is about a 230-mile drive northeast from Raleigh.