Park Service: Outer Banks tourists tried to capture foal

SHACKLEFORD BANKS, N.C. – The National Park Service is looking for three tourists who allegedly tried to capture a month-old wild foal in the Outer Banks in an attempt to take some selfies.

The three people are wanted for questioning, the Charlotte Observer reported Sunday. The Park Service said the situation Friday at Shackleford Banks, which is part of Cape Lookout National Seashore, was captured on video.

The newspaper reports it is illegal to be within 50 feet (15 metres) of the more than 100 wild horses in the park.

“During their chase — and trying to catch the foal so they could take a ‘selfie’ — they managed to scare the foal enough that it became separated from its mother,” Cape Lookout National Seashore posted on Facebook. The foal and its mother had reunited by Sunday.

The non-profit Foundation for Shackleford Horses manages the herd. The organization said a visitor reported witnessing the situation and intervened, prompting the three tourists wanting the selfies to take off.