Wild Burros

kdog

Some more wildlife from the rugged Black Mountains of NW Arizona. I was actually hoping to see more Big Horn Sheep, but gladly settled for these guys instead. Unlike the sheep which were shot from the side of a jeep trail, these were shot about a mile into a narrow canyon. It was about 112F, and I was carrying way too much camera gear on my back, when I came over a rise and saw them ahead on the trail. I probably spent 10 minutes or so within 75' to 100' of these guys talking to them, observing and just hanging out. They eyed me suspiciously, bellowed some annoyances, but stayed their ground. When they starting getting restless, I retreated back into the canyon so that they could continue on their way into the canyon themselves.













There's clearly a familial relationship here, but I don't know what it is. (My wife claims it's father/son, but I think she's guessing.)

Wild Burros are fairly common in this area. They are descendants of burros that were originally imported into the area and used by miners, and left abandoned. Now completely wild, they are resourceful and hardy and thrive on their own, even in this harsh terrain and climate.

Thanks for looking.
-joel

Ric Grupe

I always get Burros, Jackasses, and Donkies mixed up. Burros are there own species?

Nice to see something unusual for this forum, Joel.

kdog

Ric Grupe wrote:

I always get Burros, Jackasses, and Donkies mixed up. Burros are there own species?

Evidently all three names are synonymous, Ric. Although the Jackass moniker is more appropriate for photographers wandering around wilderness areas in triple-digit heat looking for god-knows-what. :giggle

Wikipedia has a pretty good page on burros/donkeys.

Eia

They are sooo cute!!!! We see them often; I call them Don Kay...sounds more exotic! Nice, crisp picture; a joy to view!!! You must not have heard the news that day giving heat warnings.

Jody Melanson

Good job handling the harsh light.

dbaker1221

kdog wrote:

Evidently all three names are synonymous, Ric. Although the Jackass moniker is more appropriate for photographers wandering around wilderness areas in triple-digit heat looking for god-knows-what. :giggle

Wikipedia has a pretty good page on burros/donkeys.

good shots though!

kdog

Eia wrote:

They are sooo cute!!!! We see them often; I call them Don Kay...sounds more exotic! Nice, crisp picture; a joy to view!!! You must not have heard the news that day giving heat warnings.

Thanks, Eia. Yeah, they are very cute. I was reading recently too that they're easy to tame and take well to being fed and even groomed!

Yeah, I knew about the heat warnings. Actually I like the heat. But I didn't bring enough water. Man it goes fast at those temps.

Cheers,
-joel

kdog

Jody Melanson wrote:

Good job handling the harsh light.

Thanks, Jody. Much appreciated.

-joel

kdog

dbaker1221 wrote:

good shots though!

Thanks, Dave.

-joel

leahe

These are wonderful shots of wild burros. What a nice surprise for you. I think it is a jack and a jenny, but I can't really tell on the darker one. The lighter one is definately a jack though. Were there any others in this little herd group?

kdog

leahe wrote:

These are wonderful shots of wild burros. What a nice surprise for you. I think it is a jack and a jenny, but I can't really tell on the darker one. The lighter one is definately a jack though. Were there any others in this little herd group?

Thanks, Leahe. These two burros were all by their lonesome at the end of the canyon. However, judging by the amount of burro scat in the canyon, there are a lot of burros around. In fact, I had heard some earlier in my trek without realizing what it was. A few times I heard a loud sound that I can only describe like the burst of white noise you get when you turn down the squelch on a CB set. It lasts only a second. I heard that several times and wondered what the heck it was. There were two other guys who started out in the canyon at the same time as me who I met at parking area at the end of the road. They were Nevada Wildlife scientists of some sort who had radio gear and were tracking tagged bats originating in Nevada of all things. When I heard the hiss, I figured that one of them had a loud radio in his pocket, although we were separated and I didn't know where they had gone. Later after I encountered these two burros, they hissed repeatedly at me and I recognized the sound instantly. So I'd unwittingly passed burros earlier in the canyon and failed to see them, even though it was probably me that they hissed at.

When I got back to the Jeep, the wildlife guys were gone. I wonder if they found their bats.

Cheers,
-joel

Bud1880

In that first shot especially, I like the way the lighter hair of the ear is making it look like some cool design work with the black. Actually makes that quite a nice looking animal jackass or not. Very nice work Joel and as Ric stated, thanks for giving us something more or less unique to look at.

Bud

raptorcaptor

That trip must have been a lot of fun, Joel. Looks like you got a lot of good shots!

kdog

Bud1880 wrote:

In that first shot especially, I like the way the lighter hair of the ear is making it look like some cool design work with the black. Actually makes that quite a nice looking animal jackass or not. Very nice work Joel and as Ric stated, thanks for giving us something more or less unique to look at.

Bud

Hey my pleasure, Bud. I do find the burros very cute in general, but these two were downright beautiful animals with this color and their unique markings. I've never seen burros look like this before. Thanks for commenting!

-joel

kdog

raptorcaptor wrote:

That trip must have been a lot of fun, Joel. Looks like you got a lot of good shots!

Hey Glenn, I wouldn't call it a trip, more like an outing. The entrance to the wilderness area is probably 25 minutes from my home, and another 30 minutes down the Jeep trails to this Canyon. That's the Black Mountains, which is a huge area. Kingman is surrounded by mountain ranges, and I spend a lot of time exploring them. I always carry a camera when I go out, because you never know what you're going to see.

Cheers,
-joel

Maestro

We have wild burros? Neat. I didn't know that. Good series. I like the black markings just behind the neck.

Giphsub

Wow. I love these Joel. They are such beautiful looking creatures. And very well captured