Seashell hunters know the Outer Banks are prime turf after a storm, but a recent visitor to Cape Lookout National Seashore got a rare surprise when the shell’s occupant was still alive — and ticklish.

You can see the live snail inside the shell. It’s white, says the National Park Service. The the yellow patch is a hard anatomical structure used like a trap door,. to protect the snail after it pulls ...