Tourists find ‘beloved’ wild stallion dead on NC’s Outer Banks, herd officials say

Tourists out for a walk found a dead stallion on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, and experts suspect he was unintentionally killed by another wild horse.

The discovery was reported Sunday, and the fatal head injury likely occurred “recently,” according to Meg Puckett, who manages the Corolla herd for the Corolla Wild Horse Fund.

The 15-year-old horse was known by the name Surfer.

“His injuries were localized and consistent with a kick from another horse. There was no other trauma to the rest of his body and nothing indicative of human interference,” Puckett wrote in a June 15 Facebook post.

“It’s likely he wasn’t even in a serious fight with another stallion; it was an unfortunately well-placed kick that could have just as easily come from a mare.”

The tourists who found Surfer called 911, which led to Puckett being summoned to the scene. She notes the injury shows how powerful and dangerous the horses can be, “even if they aren’t being purposefully aggressive.”

“Surfer was beloved by staff, residents, and visitors alike. He was stunningly beautiful and charismatic, and carried himself with an air of confidence that always made him stand out,” she said.

“He was very wild and very driven, and today we are taking great comfort in the fact that he died of natural causes without ever having human hands laid on him.”

Corolla is on the northern end of the Outer Banks and has a herd of about 110 wild horses. The herd is managed and protected via donations to the nonprofit Corolla Wild Horse Fund.

The stallions are known to engage in fierce battles in public spaces, including chasing, kicking and biting. Such brawls can ignite without warning, and are among the reasons humans are forbidden by county law to get within 50 feet of the horses.

DNA research on the Corolla herd has revealed Surfer has three offspring, only one of which remains in the wild. (One died and the other lives on a rehabilitation farm operated by the fund.)

“We hope that Surfer’s death serves as a reminder of how fragile life can be for these horses,” Puckett says.

“Now his four-year-old son is left to carry on that legacy. We can’t control nature and there’s no guarantee that he will make it into adulthood and produce foals of his own, but we can control our own actions. Please help us give this youngster – and all the horses – the best possible chance by not habituating them, driving slowly and carefully, and being good stewards of the environment.”

The Facebook post announcing Surfer’s death had more 7,000 reactions and comments within three hours.

“I’m heartbroken over this news. He was one of my favorites. So beautiful and regal. Seeing him run down the beach was one of the highlights of my life!” Karen Klotz Watras wrote on the fund’s Facebook page.

“My children have grown up watching Surfer, summer after summer, be his gorgeous self. They used to call him Fabio (after the man on the cover of the romance novels) due to his flowing blonde mane. I was in last week and wondered when I’d see my friend again. This news just hits so hard. I’m so sorry for your loss,” Annette Cote McTigue said.

Corolla is about a 225-mile drive northeast from downtown Raleigh.

This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 11:32 AM.