Wild horses take to the ocean as heat index tops 100 degrees along NC Outer Banks

The majestic wild horses roaming North Carolina’s barrier islands are being driven into the ocean as blistering heat indexes top 100 degrees, the National Park Service reports.

It’s not uncommon to see horses swimming from island to island in search of food, but now some are just standing around in the water like the rest of the tourists.

Cape Lookout National Seashore shared a photo of one such moment, showing miserable looking horses knee-deep off the Shackleford Banks.

“When its hot, like it ... will be throughout this week, even the horses seek to cool off in the water,” the park wrote in a July 26 Facebook post.

The National Weather Service predicts dangerous heat indexes as high as 109 degrees in some Outer Banks communities this week.

Wild horses are particularly vulnerable, because fresh water is not easily found on barrier islands. In many cases, the horses must dig into the sand to find natural springs, experts say.

The National Park Service says something unexpected was observed in the cluster of wading horses (seen July 21): Not all are members of the same family, which is not the norm.

“The brown mare in the foreground is about 5 years old and is not related to the other three. The three in the back of the group are all related and are 3 generations of the same family,” the park wrote.

The oldest of the mares also appeared to be pregnant, the park said. That likely added to her discomfort in the heat.

July is typically the hottest month of the year for most of the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“For most of the country, the warmest day occurs sometime between mid-July and mid-August,” Climate.gov reports.

“The amount of solar radiation reaching Earth (in the northern Hemisphere) peaks at the summer solstice on June 21, but temperatures tend to keep increasing into July. The continued warming occurs because the rate of heat input from the sun during the day continues to be greater than the cooling at night for several weeks past the solstice.”

Newly discovered horse family is living like castaways on remote Outer Banks island

Wild horse and foal need rescue after getting stuck on narrow Outer Banks boardwalk

Shape-shifting marks are appearing on Outer Banks horses. The cause is not clear