#wild donkeys

[lockvogel]

Oatman, Arizona- Route 66

[gemini-mama]

Have you ever seen 100 wild American bison (buffalo) in one valley before? Neither had I before yesterday.

The pictures don't do it justice. We were staying in the 15-passenger van for safety, so I was limited in what I could get for shots. There were tons of babies, and the moms are very protective, and with them crossing the road immediately in front of and behind us, there was no way we were getting out for the "shot of a lifetime."

We also saw a few pronghorn antelope!

And got to feed the Wild Burros!

They went crack fiend for carrots! Pushing and biting each other, nudging us, and trying to steal the bags from our hands!

And yes, it's like an open secret - don't feed the wildlife, but it's OK to feed the wild donkeys.

[thecastlevillahotels]

May Goddess Saraswati bless you with lifelong knowledge, clear wisdom, and boundless creativity, guiding every step of your learning and growth journey.

[antiqueanimals]

Mammals of the World. Written by Hans Hvass. Illustrated by Wilhelm Eigener. 1975.

[rjzimmerman]

A new study finds these equine wells attracted 59 other vertebrate species, boasting 64 percent more species than the surrounding landscape

A donkey digging a well in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. (E. Lundgren)

Excerpt from this story from the Smithsonian:

Wild horses and donkeys are often considered a problem in the American West, but new research suggests their penchant for digging wells with their hooves offers benefits to the ecosystems they inhabit, reports Douglas Main for National Geographic.

The study, published this week in the journal Science, shows that when wild or feral horses and donkeys dig wells, they increase the availability of water for other species living in the parched desert landscape. These wells can be up to six feet deep and provide access to groundwater to species including badgers, mountain lions, deer and birds.

Donkeys and horses were introduced to North America roughly 500 years ago, and the Bureau of Land Management currently estimates there are more than 95,000 wild donkeys and horses roaming the West. That figure is more than triple what land managers say the landscape can sustain, and the growing population can “trample native vegetation, erode creek beds and outcompete native animals,” writes Jonathan Lambert for Science News.

In 2014, however, Erick Lundgren, a field ecologist at Aarhus University in Denmark, saw wild donkeys digging wells and wondered if other animals in the environment might use them in much the same way that animals from far and wide take advantage of elephant-dug watering holes in the African savannah, per Science News.

To investigate, Lundgren and his co-authors kept an eye on four dried-up streams in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. The team monitored the streams during the summers of 2015, 2016 and 2018 and made note of any new wells dug by horses and donkeys.

Researchers found that the wells drew 59 other vertebrate species, 57 of which were seen drinking from the equine waters. Some wells even appeared to provide a boost to desert trees such as willows and cottonwoods, which researchers observed germinating from the moistened soil.

[elladastinkardiamou]

Orphaned by war, wild donkeys make a comeback in Cyprus

Left behind by technology and cast aside during war, feral donkeys are munching their way to a revival on a remote peninsula in northeast Cyprus - and they are impossible to miss.

Dotting hills and sand dunes and blocking country roads along the sparsely populated Karpass panhandle, the donkeys have thrived in the more than four decades since war split Cyprus in two, forcing huge population shifts and leaving them to their fend for themselves.

Experts estimate there must be about 2,000 today, from 800-900 during a previous field study in 2003, covering an area of 132 sq km (51 sq miles).

"They used to be domestic donkeys, and then they were abandoned," said Tugberk Emirzade, a biologist and wilderness guide who took part in the last field survey.

[thisismywastedtalent]

Essaouira, Morocco, October 2017

[antiqueanimals]

Mammals of the World. Written by Hans Hvass. Illustrated by Wilhelm Eigener. 1975.