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mike
What box?
Joined: 30 Dec 2002
Posts: 3134
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 Posted: 2/14/2004, 2:55 pm Post subject: Wild burros finding homes |
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| Azcentral.com wrote: |
Wild burros finding homes
Patricia Biggs
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 14, 2004 12:00 AM
Hualapai is a formerly wild burro who teamed up with Tom Taylor of Mesa when Taylor bought her at an auction in 1988. She carries firewood and other supplies on Taylor's hikes. Taylor says the key to taming a wild burro is to be calm and patient.
They're touted as "America's Living Legends."
Fuzzy and four-legged, they come in various shades of gray, and they bray like they know what they're saying.
They're wild burros, rounded up in the remote areas of Arizona and sold at auction by the Bureau of Land Management.
The next auction begins Feb. 27 at the Apache Junction Rodeo Grounds, with jack burros going for $25 and jennie burros starting at $125.
But what kind of pets do wild burros really make?
Chandler horse enthusiasts Sam and Kathy Rauch are finding out after adopting an 8-year-old burro in January.
"He's doing good," Sam said this week of Hank, the burro who just seemed to call to them from the small corral where he was kept with a dozen other jack burros at an auction in Scottsdale.
But it seems a month is too short a time to expect a tame animal.
"I've got a halter on him and a long lead rope that he drags along. I've got to sneak up to him and grab that lead rope," Sam said.
Once he has hold of the rope, he can walk slowly up and pet the burro.
Kathy said Hank is a "sweetie," but she reminds people that a burro can be dangerous.
"It's like a horse; you always have to expect the unexpected," she said.
The couple spend time each day talking to Hank and coaxing him with hay.
"You're just building a good friend. It takes time," she said.
The Rauches' horses didn't quite know what to make of Hank.
"At first he was like a creature from outer space to them," Sam said. "I guess he has a different smell to them, because they didn't know what to do with him."
That first bray
Kathy recalls the first time Hank brayed.
"The farm just about went into collapse," she said. "The horses just went frantic. The dogs started barking. Everybody was on full alert."
Now, the horses will stay in the same part of the pasture, but they don't yet buddy up with the new arrival.
Maybe they're intimidated by the burro's superior intelligence.
"They're three times smarter than horses. If they had thumbs, they'd have my job," said Scott Elefritz, a wild horse and burro specialist at the Kingman holding facility.
Burros have a sense of humor that sometimes comes at the human's expense, such as opening corral gates, he said.
"They don't go anywhere. They just do it to mess with you. They know you're the guy that freaks out when the gate's open, has to go through and make counts."
Elefritz said burros are quickly trained: "Spend an hour a day, and soon it'll follow you around."
Tom Taylor of Mesa has been followed around by his burro for nearly 16 years. He adopted Hualapai through the BLM program as a yearling in 1988.
"I just wanted to experience the old-time lifestyle," he said.
"She's the prospector or hiker's SUV."
Taylor has used Hualapai for carrying firewood or wild game he shot. He takes her hiking around the state and once obtained a permit to take Hualapai down the Grand Canyon.
"She carried all the weight," he said. "I carried the hydration pack and a fanny pack."
He said the key to taming a wild burro is to be calm and patient, but also stay alert.
"At the beginning, they may use any of their defenses, which is biting and kicking," Taylor said.
Horses, too
Dorothea Boothe, a spokeswoman for BLM, said there will be about two dozen burros and about 40 wild horses available at the auction.
The animals are culled from wild herds to keep them from overgrazing and damaging other animals' habitats.
Prospective bidders are asked to complete an application and promise to keep the animal a year.
The buyer needs to have adequate room, zoning that allows equines, and a proper trailer to take the animal.
"We send them home with a packet of information and a Welcome Home, Wild One video," Boothe said.
Although wild horses are available, Boothe said burros are a good choice. "Burros gentle down a lot quicker than horses do," Boothe said.
The auction will feature gentling demonstrations, and experts are available to help after the adoptions.
Boothe said overall, the program has produced happy owners.
"It's a way to take part in American history," she said
If you go
WHAT: Wild Horse & Burro Auction.
WHEN: Feb. 27-29.
WHERE: Apache Junction Rodeo Grounds, 1590 E. Lost Dutchman Blvd.
TO ADOPT: Buyers must fill out an application showing they are capable of keeping an animal. Bidding begins at 11 a.m. Feb. 28, but jack burros can be purchased Feb. 27 for $25. For more information or applications, call (623) 580-5500 or visit www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov.
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http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0214Burros14.html
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phrankster
Joined: 04 Jan 2003
Posts: 65
Location: Chandler
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| Posted: 2/14/2004, 3:36 pm Post subject: |
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