Back in September 2012, I wrote an article about the wild burros in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties living in the hills between Redlands and Grand Terrace. Did you know there are Wild Burros in Grand Terrace, CA? There had been a lot of media hype that week and spectators were driving around looking for the animals and giving them food and water as we were having a triple digit heat wave. Riverside and San Bernardino cities were having record temperatures of 111 degrees and this caused the burros to come out of the hills for help.
Some interesting Facts:
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Spanish origin brought here from 1500-1800’s. Many times the travelers perished during the trip across the rough desert terrain so the burros would learn to survive and form packs.
- Oatman, Arizona was a mining town from 1900-1915 and wild burros were used as pack animals for the miners. When the boom died off, the burros were turned loose into the hills and desert. The Oatman Hotel bought in 1902 has been a popular spot for many tourists and Hollywood celebrities. The town still has its western theme and the burros walk into town daily looking for food. Many stores sell carrots and pellets for tourist to feed these hungry burros and just before sunset, the wander back into the hills for the night.
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Diet- Wild Burros can survive in the hills and desert areas by eating grasses and shrubs but need water to sustain them.
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Burea of Land Management (BLM) reports in 2010 that there were over 1,000 wild burros in California and approx 5,000 wild burros nationwide.
Legislation -The Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, signed into law by Richard Nixon, made it a crime to harass or kill wild horses or burros on federal land.
- March 2012, the Texas wildlife agency has placed a moratorium on the slaughter so therefore has temporily stopped the killing of burros in a state park along the Mexican border, and is instituting a "nonlethal plan to remove the animals." Hopefully in 2013, a law will be passed to stop this killing completely.
- April 2012, the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC), a coalition of more than 45 organizations is urging the BLM to implement available alternatives to the proposed roundup in order to leave wild burros on the range where they belong. AWHPC feels by removing them, it is causing more to die during the round up. BLM claims to roundup the wild burros by professional rustlers and bring them to into California and dropped off in 22 different areas of the state
- BLM claims that the wild burros living in North Riverside and South San Bernardino Counties are on private land and not under the control of the BLM; therefore it is not their responsibility.
The Donkeyland Rescue reports a man roped 50 wild burros in the 1950’s and released them into the hills between San Timoteo Canyon, Grand Terrace, Moreno Valley and Box Springs Canyon as this area was unpopulated back then.
Now, there are major highways going through these areas and have caused the deaths of over 50 burros in the past few years plus one driver was killed when a burros ran in front of her car. Between the drought, lack of food and water, and heavy traffic these animals are at risk.
After a fast moving flash flood in South Redlands last month, Sept 2012, I saw a wild burros lying dead on the side of the road that had been apparently hit by a car. This broke my heart. Sorry but I did not stop to take that picture!
Since my last article, Did you know there are Wild Burros in Grand Terrace, CA?, I have been contacted by several people living in this area giving me some interesting facts on the wild burros so I decided to do an updated article for all the animal lovers out there. Thank you as we are all concerned about the wild burros of California.
*The wild burros are so cute and tame and will take carrots right out of your hand.
What do you think? Feed them or let them fend for themselves?
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