Saw This Ass Hanging Around By The River...

[BoatCop]

This guy and his buddies are descendents of the burros that miners and prospectors left behind 100-400 years ago. They are US Government Property and protected by Federal Law under The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 (Public Law 92-195).

There's a few herds running around our area. Probably several dozen to a hundred or more in our area alone. About 5,000 roam the Southwest, from California to Texas, including Arizona, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico. The locals don't bother them and they don't bother the locals, except when one may end up as road kill from being out on the roadway and some drunk or speeder doesn't expect them.

They come down out of the hills for water and to snack on the mesquite pods and grasses along the river. It's a pretty good trade off for the resort owners. They get their grass trimmed at no cost and loads of free fertilizer.

[HandymanHerb]

My first thought was, what was Hyden doing on the river

[tuned]

Nice shots.
Side story. I live in a hobby farm area about 10 miles out of town. My neighbor across the highway has raised both donkeys and mules for years. Most of them are fairly good neighbors. However, one of the big mamas had a beller like a foghorn. She went off about every hour or so for no particular reason. You could hear it over my stereo even---my friends would go "what the h#ll was that?". No worries guys, that's just Mable.
She died last year. I kinda miss that sound. The others make a little noise, but nothing by comparison.

[oldcoot]

We used to love going just north of Yuma near the Army proving grounds to watch the wild horses and burros...gotta watch at night when traveling!!

[lakerunner]

My first thought was, what was Hyden doing on the river

[Waterlogged]

It's neat to see them around, but they can be really scary at night. I was walking my dogs one very dark night and they started acting up. Then I heard some really strange sounds. I whipped my flashlight toward the sound and all I could see was about a dozen eyes glowing I the dark. First thought, aliens, but after my eyes adjusted I saw it was a herd of burros. After a clean pair of shorts I was good as new.

Glenn

[spurhunter]

While I have never really thought of them as regal, this story puts them in a different light. Very cool!

[VaGent]

Back in 2004 I visited family in Lake Havasu. They took me up to Oatman for the day & the donkeys would come right up to you & nudge you for carrots or celery. There were as many as 25 at a time just walking among the visitors. Pretty cool to see wild donkeys walking in the streets begging for food. They certainly appeared to be in very good health. I really enjoyed the visit that day. Looking forward to a re-visit in the future.

[BoatCop]

What a lot of people don't know, is that the babies, like the one below, can die from carrots and other treats that adults love. They haven't learned to chew well, and try to swallow them whole and choke. The locals in Oatman put stickers on their foreheads so the tourists won't accidentally kill them.