The Wild Burros of Oatman, Arizona

Positioned in the ancient part of old Route 66, in the US state of Arizona, Oatman is full of wild burros —an old Spanish term which means donkeys— roaming the streets. This town with an old western appearance has been an enjoyable place and a tourist attraction for the burros wandering around with springiness. The wild donkeys can be hand-fed with ‘burro chow’, naturally known as hay cubes, which are readily available in the town. Although they gently behave with tourists, still you will find several signs posted in the town which asks the public to maintain caution.

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Photo credit: Joshua Noble/Flickr

The wild burros are the offspring of the burros transported here in the late 1800s when they became useless to the miners. They were used by the miners to carry essential supplies, including rock and metals in those days. And now as the mining days no more exist, what has lingered here are the burros. Every morning, the burros wander in the town seeking food and greeting the tourists. Their food is available in almost every shop and markets, consisting of carrots and pellets. They consume these foods every day, throughout the day whenever you feed them and when the day is over, before the sunset, they ramble back to the hills and take shelter for the night. They come back again the next morning.

The wild burros of Oatman are maintained and protected by the United States Department of the Interior. They are extremely fond of travelers and they expect every person to feed them some food. They hate getting harassed while feeding themselves so make sure you keep them tamed. The wild burros are the key attraction of this town so it’s definite that you won’t miss noticing them as you visit Oatman.

Every morning you wake up in Oatman, you will find the friendly burros in the town waiting to be fed. And after an entire day pleasing the tourists, they depart back to the hills, to their homes, waiting for the next sunrise.

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