Death Valley National Park is the largest national park in the lower ’48 consisting of 5,270 mi² of barren, beautiful desert. It holds the world record for the hottest place on earth topping out at 134 F in 2013.
Burros (donkeys) were introduced to the park by gold miners in the 1800’s. Some escaped and wild burros have thrived in the park ever since. Burros dig holes to find water and these holes are often used by other desert creatures. Burros are a food source for resident mountain lions, taking pressure off big horn sheep populations.
Burros are not wanted by The National Park Service in Death Valley.
The front page of the 2019 National Park Summer Visitor Guide says burros are an “invasive species……they stomp around and make a mess…they over browse…..they can be mean and aggressive when defending young….they stand in roads and won’t budge.”
This sounds a lot like some of the human visitors I have seen in national parks over the years. But despite this, the park service has pursued a policy of rounding up wild burros by helicopter and horseback, shipping them off to rescue organizations. “Eliminating wild burros from the park has been the park service goal since 2002,” (Pahrump Valley Times).
Having read about the wild burros, and wanting to see the last remaining ones, I decided to go search for them. I started by asking locals where I could find them. Every local I spoke to told the same basic story, which amounted to, “I haven’t seen them in the park. I have seen them outside the boundaries of park.”
One person even said, “It seems they know they are not wanted in the park, so they tend to stay just outside it.”
Pretty clever critters, huh?
The road to Beatty Nevada, a town of 1010 people, just outside the park came up in lots of conversations as a place where wild burros congregate. So off to Beatty we went.
Sure enough, near the outskirts of town, we started to see signs of burro presence, not stomped up messes, but donkey scat. My husband Jim is a patient person, and he was willing to take all sorts of rocky dirt roads following donkey scat. We had no luck, and were about to give up when Jim decided to drive around the perimeter of town, and there they were! A small herd of eight burros, with one dominant male, three foals, and four females. One female was pregnant. Here was the male being protective when we first saw the herd:
After awhile of distant observation, the burros seemed to decide we were not a threat, and walked slowly over and approached us directly, showing no sign of aggression. Mindful of the park literature, I backed away from them, and retreated to the safety of the car.
This was the burros reaction to my retreat!
A Beatty local resident, observing my caution, walked over and introduced us to the burros.
You can see his hand here.
No one should ever approach wild donkeys. They can be aggressive and dangerous when threatened. But this nice local man showed us their other side as well. They can also be friendly, curious and affectionate.
You can almost see Jim here making friends!
Cheers to you from the beautiful burros of Death Valley~
For further discussion of the burros and park policy see:
https://undark.org/2019/10/14/death-valley-burros-fate/
Share this:
Discover more from Cindy Knoke
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
They really look so cute, but on your advice, I wouldn’t approach them. 😅
I wouldn’t. The local led the way and the burros initiated the very gentle contact.
Hmm. Noteworthy observations. Fascinating.
Thanks John & happy weekend my friend!
So cute and friendly. I love the fluffy youngsters.
They are beautiful and so affectionate!
omg they are so cute. 🙂
So sweet too. My husband’s comment as we drove away was, “Why don’t we adopt some of the ones they round up?”
Gosh, the babies are soo cute! Yeah, I can imagine their bite could tear a chunk out of you and I wouldn’t want to think about a well-aimed kick. Best to give them their space.
Exactly. These guys kept their distance until they felt we weren’t a threat. The foal and mother walked leisurely over to us, but it took a local resident to get me out of the car!
Have you ever seen the burros of Oatman AZ along Rt.66? I recently read Sagittarius Viking’s post about them: https://sagittariusviking.com/2019/11/07/oatman-az-where-the-burros-rule-the-streets
http://www.oatmangoldroad.org/burro.htm
I hadn’t seen either of these posts and I loved both of them! Thank you for sending them to me. I love the town’s embrace of the wild burros. Good for Oatman! They support my impression of these wonderful creatures.
They are adorable.
They so are!! We have acerage. We could adopt a couple.
That would be fun.
It would.
Lovely photos and I’m so glad you got to meet some burros.
Thank you Sheree. It was a wonderful experience!
Hard to believe, but, do people trust these little animals to ride on them to the bottom of the Grand Canyon? Great photo journey, thank you.
I did that when I was six years old. My parents fibbed and said I was seven as that was the cut off age date. I was really uncomfortable that they lied but I remember the experience so clearly.
Oh Wow 🙂 great friends 🐴 🙂 Thanks for sharing this, never saw any that I remember when there in ’63
Thank you and I am happy you enjoyed them. I have never seen the wild ones either, until this trip.
I truly love furry donkeys, and they are clever critters, thank you Cindy for great collection of photos.
I also love it when Derrick posts his Donkey photos the little farms in England….
Aren’t Derrick’s donkeys adorable! I love them too.
yes, they look so at home roaming the paddocks and roads…
Yes, trusting, which kinda breaks my heart.
You persistence paid off! They are so cute.
Alison
They are so sweet too. I didn’t expect this.
They’re so pretty!
And they are so sweet too.
How gorgeous they are. What a pity they are considered invasive.
Yes. There is is this defense mechanism called projection, where traits we dislike in ourselves are projected onto others, I think this qualifies. So lovely to hear from you and hope you are well. <3
That’s very interesting.
It was a rather rude surprise. I certainly didn’t know about the park policy.
They are so amazingly beautiful. You have given me such pleasure with your photographs. I love every single one of them. So sweet and I like them so much more than the Park Service People. They are the ones who should leave. Thank you for this. <3
Oh, I love you! I really do <3 <3
Pingback: Death Valley’s Wild Burros~ — (Look at all these truly gorgeous donkeys–Gigi) | Rethinking Life
Hugs to you sweet friend <3
I hope he made friends, all the donkeys I have encountered have been lovely, but they are used a lot here to defend the farm animals. They can be no nonsense, and very adapt at their jobs.
Oh, yes, I know what you mean, which is one of the attractions of having them at The Holler. They broke no nonsense from coyotes! I have seen them deal with them and it is impressive and protective.
” “Invasive species” They stomp around and make a mess…they over browse…..they can be mean and aggressive when defending young….they stand in roads and won’t budge. We have the same here, Cindy, and they are human’s too!
Thanks fro thegreat pictures, loved them! X
Honestly, when I read this in the “Welcome to the Park,” brochure, I couldn’t believe it was really there. It was such a piece of polarized polemic damning a species based on what data precisely?
Practially none actually.
“Invasive species” are a species invasive humans don’t like.
You are so right.
I have seen humans exhibit every negative trait they ascribed to these poor burros.
If humans are going to drive a species out of ecosystem they introduced them to, they need much better data and reasoning.
Well said, Cindy.
Mankind at its worst!
TTFN
<3 <3
Aww. I’ve had a soft for donkeys and burros since my childhood love with Eeyore. Thanks for showing us a different side to these lovely creatures than what park officials put out Cindy.😊
Ohhhh, thank you! Sweet Eyeore is actually just like these wonderful creatures.
Oh, Cindy!!! I love those little burrows and can’t understand why the park has no use for them. I wish I had a lot of land to house unwanted animals on. What is wrong with people? They are doing what they need to do to survive. Grrrr. Just gorgeous creatures and I want them.
You are just like me. I was quite angry, first when I read the biased propaganda damning the burros put out by the park service, and then I was just dismayed after spending time with them. I can’t imagine demonizing such lovely creatures. I suspect it comes down to money unfortunately. The national park service runs lodges in the park, one in particular is full of gorgeous landscaping with invasive plant species that are seriously water demanding and very expensive to maintain. The burros naturally might like to eat these invasive plant species. This costs the park money to replace. I guess the park service feels comfortable choosing which invasive species are acceptable in the park and which are not.
Grrrr is right.
We are on the same page their.
We are and it feels good <3
In my valley, invasive plant species and water species endanger plants and water life that have always been here.
The burros are cute, but they can live elsewhere and the rangers job is to preserve and protect the park.
Thank you for sharing your perspective.
Btw those burros look so cute.
I respect you for respectfully stating your opinion and I have deep bone love for our national parks.
They do look so sweet.
They really are heartwarming creatures.
So cute !
And very sweet too!
Oh they are lovely aren’t they! 😊
Yes indeed. They stole our <3 's!
Reblogged this on Musings on Life & Experience and commented:
Lovely pictures by Cindy Knoke of the wild burros of Death Valley National Park.
Thank you for your concern and advocacy Patricia and have a wonderful weekend <3
What a fun and irresistibly cute post!
Awww, thanks much & happy you enjoyed <3
How the hell do you stomp around and make a mess in the desert? *eyes rolling*
My ex and I drove around Death Valley in November 2000. He had relatives in Henderson, NV, and we got out & wandered around. The landscape has a quiet beauty and I was fascinated with the abandoned rail lines there. I didn’t see any burros but, I was told of them.
They are so cute.
I am keeping the visitor guide because I find it as unbelievable as you do!
Simply adorable! 🙂 🙂
They were utterly winsome <3
Lovely you found them in the end. they look so sweet, but I believe that you have to be cautious.
Thank you and yes indeed, caution around wild creatures keeps everyone safe.
Hey Cindy,
Perhaps growing up I read too much Winnie-the-Pooh but I can’t look at a donkey without thinking of Eeyore, who always was a little sardonic and gloomy, but whom I adored all the same.
It seems a shame they are not wanted in the Park when they most probably didn’t want to be there in the first place but have thrived and made it their home. One can only hope they are well-taken care of by the rescue organisations.
Wonderful photos as always, thank you.
Enjoy your weekend,
DN
“It seems a shame they are not wanted in the Park when they most probably didn’t want to be there in the first place but have thrived and made it their home.” As usual Dewin, you express yourself beautifully. Thank you.
They are so cute and cuddly. I am glad you have pictures of them with people and with car to give me a sense of how big they are. I thought they are small but with the pictures I can see they are pretty size.
It is often hard to get a sense of perspective in photos, so I am glad the car helped to clarify this.
They are definitely cute … but great text about them.
Thanks Frank. They were sweet and affectionate too.
You were very blessed to see them. I hope they all get the respect and care they deserve.
Thank you for your hope and concern.
How precious and cute but you’re right to be cautious. Hopefully the locals will treat them well. Great photos.
Thank you Linda and I share your hopes <3
Thanks Cindy. You’re full of fun facts and adventures. It’s good to know burros have a pleasant side. They’re mostly portrayed as aggressive, dumb, and a nuisance.
Sad, isn’t it, that humans so incorrectly malign.
Yes, and we also seem to project many human qualities on them too.
Oh! I’m glad you found them. I was working on a case (with people) that involved a burro who needed rescued. I fell in love with him. Thanks for this!
I can see why you fell in love. They are utterly charming creatures <3
I always love running into wild burros. Some are very skittish while others are engaging. If you’re meandering around the state of AZ, Oatman is a fun stop.
https://livelaughrv.net/2018/02/11/oatman-and-route-66/
People have been telling me about Oatman. I love their compassionate response to the burros and would love to visit.
Reminds me of Oatman, Arizona, Cindy, where the kids have ‘no carrot’ stickers on their foreheads since they are too young to process carrots and may choke on them. Cute photos. –Curt
Yes, Eliza Waters sent me links to Oatman. So wonderful to see a town embrace these wonderful creatures.
They’re everywhere! Quite amusing.
<3
As you know, ours are very gentle creatures – and have longer ears 🙂
We petted and visited with these guys and they were wonderful albeit wild. It is hard to imagine even bigger ears!!!
The ‘as you know…. ‘ comment was me, Derrick
What a delightful trip, Cindy. I had no idea.
Thanks Jacqui. I was really surprised to read the park polemic.
What I gather from your interesting post, Cindy, is that burros are cute and harmless animals. Just because they are considered invasive should not be a reason for expelling them from the park.
I agree with you wholeheartedly Peter. Things evolve and change in nature and nature adapts. Humans should try and catch up.
Your photos showcase their beauty, Cindy. They look adorable but they are indeed wild, and therefore unpredictable in their behavior. Sad to read they are considered invasive.
I agree. I think the term invasive is overused and can justify cruel practices. The most invasive species of all is afterall, us.
Cute little fellows and as you said seem to show more common sense, and restraint with regard to respect for the park that protects and manages what we as visitors are blessed to have and visit at our own free will. The burros seem to know where or when they are wanted, where to reside, yet cautious of their surroundings. Smart burros. 🙂
Yes, very smart. Animals are often good judges of human character.
Very interesting post. I didn’t really know the park service was trying to get them out of the park; I hope they all find hospitable new places to thrive.
I hope so too. There are some towns near the park that seem to welcome them.
Interesting and enlightening post. Donkeys look similar to these burros and are very useful for carrying loads in some parts of this globe.
Thank you and yes, they are the same creature just different names.
They are so cute!! Didn’t you want to take one home with you?
I did and Jim said he wants to adopt some…..
Beautiful post, Cindy 😀
They look very friendly, but like mostly with wild animals, it is better and more secure for us to let them come to us for greetings. Then they decide the speed.
Exactly my philosophy. Animals respect, respect!
I saw burros like this on St. John’s Island in the Virgin Islands many years ago – and loved them.
These pictures are awesome, Cindy, and thank you for sharing with us. You and Jim must make a great team!
They are so smart to stay out of the park. I can’t believe the park relocated them. Very sad.
I have heard of the burros on St. John but have never seen them. I saw them in Santorini but felt very sorry for them as they seemed in truly sad shape.
It seems the burros have learned how to survive in or out of the park. Really adorable and look really healthy with good coats. Great photos!
They did seem healthy and happy which was a relief.
They are certainly cute, and looked to be in good shape! I think you are right to be cautious around any wild animal, but also open-minded.
Thank you Ann. That sums up my approach nicely.