Outer Banks Wild Horse Silhouette at Sunset

A wild horse feeds atop a sand dune a few yards from the beach on a barrier island along the North Carolina coast. Mustangs have lived wild and free on the Outer Banks for nearly 500 years. Descendants of the Colonial Spanish stock used by early European explorers, these animals have adapted to island life. This color photograph was taken at the Rachel Carson Estuarine Reserve near Beaufort, North Carolina.