Cows thought lost to Hurricane Dorian found alive months later in Outer Banks

Cows thought lost to Hurricane Dorian found alive months later in Outer Banks of North Carolina

Manatees are also known as sea cows, but these amphibious bovines were apparently moo-atees.

Three cows that had been swept out to sea when Hurricane Dorian hit North Carolina on Sept. 6 were found alive.

The cows apparently swam from Cedar Island to Cape Lookout National Seashore park on the Outer Banks, The New York Times reported.

>> Read more trending news

The animals' caretaker, Woody Handcock, identified the cows as part of a herd of livestock that grazes on Cedar Island, the Times reported.

They had been swept away, along with horses, by a water surge.

Handcock believed most of the animals he cared for were dead. Shortly after the hurricane, only 28 of the 49 horses that lived on Cedar Island were found with 21 alive, the rest were killed. Those unaccounted for were also presumed dead, according to the Carteret County News-Times.

The cattle were also presumed dead after they found the carcass of one bovine, the Carteret County News-Times reported at the time.