Wildlife Protection
More than 400 species of birds have been spotted on Ocracoke.
The ocean beaches as well as the wetlands, marshes and marine estuaries make the island a home for birds, fish, turtles, shellfish and other wildlife.
We share this place, and sharing means showing respect.
Our Banker Ponies have called Ocracoke home for over 400 years. Since 1959, they’ve been protected in a 188-acre enclosure managed by the National Park Service, with access to sound-side beach and marsh. In the 1950s, the free-roaming ponies were eating the dune grasses planted to prevent erosion and wandering onto the new highway. The pen wasn’t punishment – it was protection for both the ponies and the island’s infrastructure.
Nesting Season Changes Everything South Point can have over 100 bird nests during breeding season – mostly Least and Common Terns, Black Skimmers, American Oystercatchers, and Piping and Wilson’s Plovers. Last year, those 100+ nests produced 17 fledglings. That’s why large sections of beach close from spring through summer.
Sea turtles nest on our beaches too. Every nest represents a species that’s been coming ashore here since before humans walked the earth.
YOUR PART:
- Observe wildlife from a distance. Never feed animals – it damages their health and alters natural behaviors.
- Keep dogs leashed and clean up after them.
- Control pets at all times, and avoid wildlife during sensitive times like mating, nesting, or raising young.
- The wildlife here isn’t performing for tourists. They’re living their lives in one of the last wild places on the East Coast. Our job is to let them.