Baby Blue Wing Burro at PVC
Over 2000 wild horses and burros are targeted for removals in active removals, or beginning this week (more here). These operations include 820 burros (125 from Twin Peaks (CA), 80 from Big Sandy (AZ) and 350 in Black Mountain (AZ), Gold Butte, Cerbat and Trigo (AZ) are targeted for 265).
In addition to those being removed now, BLM has already completed a removal of 188 burros from the Blue Wing Complex. Blue wing has some beautiful paint burros. We have been told the paint burros were sent to Carson City (off limits to viewing) where they will be placed on the online adoption. We have not seen any of the Blue Wing burros yet on the online corral (HERE).
There are still burros available at Palomino Valley Center (PVC) for onsite adoption, like the little one in the picture above.
In the last quarter of fiscal 2019 over 1000 burros will be removed from the wild.
Burros have been notoriously hard to count in the wild because they blend into their surroundings and, most often, share identical markings.
After the 2013 National Academy of Sciences (NAS) review that found BLM inventory methods lacking, inventory methods were changed. Today BLM estimates there are 16,000 wild burros in the US in 2019 and that is “over populated” according to BLM. However, BLM continues to compare numbers from new census methods to old census methods. Something the mathematical and scientific community finds absurd.
You can find BLM’s current “estimated population” numbers HERE.
Burros march to the beat of their own drum.
They roam the most rugged inhospitable lands.
Their little hooves can get them up and over craggy mountains and use them to even dig for water when need be.
Hands down it has to be their ears that create their quirky personalities.
If you get to see these stealthy, silent big eared beauties they will most likely see you first.
Be prepared when you realize you are being watched it will be a stare down and then you will see an ear twitch and then a tale wag.
You have to be silent with no quick moves- so don’t drop your glasses or signal to your buddy “they are over here!” because as I have experienced you will look up and they will have shape shifted off into the desert.
Gone!
Where did they go?
And you are left there in the desert, silent, if you are lucky the next thing you might hear is the unmistakable sound of a wild burro “HEEEE HAAWWW”
See you later buddy!
~ Caroline Christie
Caroline photographs wild horses and burros and transforms her work into beautiful photo art. You can view and purchase her work on Etsy or follow her on Instagram.
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Slideshow below is of some of the burros available for onsite adoption at Palomino Valley Center.
Categories: Wild Horse Education
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