KBR Long Ears Gallery

BLM Wild Horses and Burros:

KBR Long Ears Gallery

Welcome to the KBR Long Ears Gallery! This collection is a celebration of burros and mules. Burro is the Spanish term for donkey. There are over 200 distinct breeds of burros and donkeys in existence although from a distance it may be hard to tell many of them apart.

Since burros are not indiginous to North America, the wild herds originated from an assortment of animals brought in by early explorers, pioneers, miners and ranchers which got loose, or were released, and formed wild bands. In some instances the burros and horses interbred, producing wild mules. (Wild Jack burros are fierce in combat and will occasionally run off a stallion and breed his mares.)

Most of the burros found in the wild are descendants of stout Spanish donkeys. Burros are tough on most potential predators so they don't need to stay bunched together in tightly formed herds. They are extremely hardy and members of burro bands may scatter out over several miles, thus their loud brays and keen hearing kan keep each member apprised as to the locations of other members of the group.

Burros are popular protectors of livestock. Once familiar with a sheep or goat herd, a burro will be a fierce defender, wreaking havoc with coyotes and other hungry carnivores. They don't miss when they kick and even a relatively small burro can easily grab a 100 pound dog and throw it a great distance.

Do to overpopulation, particularly in fragile desert areas, a significant number of burros have been captured and made available for adoption through the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Our experience with burros, both those which we have trained and cared for as well as those which we have come in contact with, indicates that they are intelligent and social. They are a little challenging to train as the trainer has to be smarter than the burro, however once the trainer learns to make whatever he or she is doing the burro's idea, the little beast will usually tackle the chore with enthusiasm. We have enjoyed working with burros and would like to share quite a number of these "American living treasures" with you in the pages that follow.

Please note that we are presently separating the burros from our Mustang Gallery and placing them here in their own section, so it may be a few days before they all appear here.

A few final notes before you visit the gallery:

You can click on each picture in the gallery to open up more pictures and information about each burro.

If you know the name of the burro or mule you want to see, you can look it up in our Quick Link Section.

If you have a BLM wild horse or burro which you would like to add to the gallery, please go to our information page on

Adding a Wild Horse or Burro.