Cape Lookout National Seashore, North California – Three cows have been spotted beachcombing on a remote barrier island on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, swept to an unlikely grazing spot when Hurricane Dorian whipped waves powerful enough to carry them two miles (3.22 km) from their home.
One of the bovine bodysurfers was seen soon after the Category 1 storm struck on Sept. 6 and now two other cows have joined her at Cape Lookout National Seashore, Park Ranger Karen Duggan said on Thursday.
All are members of a wild herd of cattle that lives in marshes on an interior island known as Cedar Island, about 2-3 miles (3.2-4.8 km) closer to the mainland than the barrier island park.
“The water picked them up, carried them, they managed to stay afloat and come to rest on our island,” Duggan said.
“They can all swim, but they are not the best swimmers. Of the cattle that got swept away – and I don’t know how many that was – only three of them have managed to find footing on the islands that remain.”
