08/16/2026
I met this beautiful wild burro, April, when my mom and I visited Oatman, Arizona, last year. It breaks my heart to hear that she was hit by a car. 💔🫏
If you’re ever in an area where wild burros roam, please don’t feed them. Burros are incredibly smart, and they quickly learn to associate people—and cars—with food. That association can put them in dangerous, and sometimes deadly, situations.
Please admire these beautiful animals from a safe distance and help keep them safe. ♥️🫏
Today I want to talk about how you can help keep wild burros safe. Many followers of my page are probably familiar with Oatman, Arizona, a tiny town along historic route 66 where wild Bureau of Land Management burros roam freely. Several of the burros spend much of their time in town, visiting the local shops, getting fed hay cubes by visitors who flock to the town to meet the donkeys, and even stealing bags and foods from unsuspecting tourists.
Sadly, a beloved matriarch of this herd, April, was killed on August 12th when she was hit by a car. April was a sweet, older jenny who was famous for stealing bags and food from visitors, and loved to hang out on the boardwalk in town. She was actually one of the first Oatman burros we met when we visited back in 2021, and I fell in love with her gentle demeanor, soft eyes, and fluffy ears. My heart aches to think that she was killed by someone driving carelessly in an area known for their free-roaming donkeys, who are often in the road.
Unfortunately, burro versus car accidents happen all too frequently in areas where these animals have been habituated to human presence, such as Oatman and Lake Pleasant in Arizona and Beatty, Nevada. In many of these cases, the burro pays the ultimate price. The most important thing you can do to help avoid this is to drive slowly and carefully in areas where donkeys are known to frequent. Pay attention to the road and shoulder ahead of you, don't speed, and don't drive while distracted.
If you are a visitor to an area where wild burros interact with people, please, PLEASE, never engage with donkeys from your car, or along a road. Do not feed or pet any burro from your car, and do not stop along the road to interact with wild donkeys. Donkeys are smart, and if they are regularly rewarded along roads, that is where they will start to congregate. In Oatman, in particular, please only feed/pet burros (and really, just pets are better, as most of the town burros are very overweight) in town, on foot.
Sadly, so many burros are killed or severely injured by vehicles, and that is a part of why the BLM recently conducted roundups in Lake Pleasant. If you want to find out more ways to keep wild burros safe, check out the non-profit Loco for Long Ears, and consider volunteering with or donating to them.
Rest in Peace, sweetest April. I am so sorry for everyone who is grieving the loss of this wonderful girl. 💔
