Introduced: Wild Burros Of The Southwest
If you aren’t aware, I have been absolutely craving the desert and while working on my project Healing In The Southwest, I’ve had a great opportunity to take to these wondrous desert places to explore and create.
On my last desert trip, just a few weeks ago, I was able to accomplish a big goal of finding and photographing wild burros. I was immediately enamored with these animals and began researching them endlessly(on top of all the research i had already done). What I found out was exactly what I assumed; much like wild horses in the southwest, these burros were introduced into the ecosystem and are not native to North America.
And because of that, there is a ton of hatred towards wild burros. And while they’re protected under law, they are totally mismanaged and their future in this country isn’t totally clear.
Introduced species tend to be villainized. They harm landscapes, they take resources from native species, on and on. There is huge reason to be upset by an introduced species. However, the fact of the matter is humans are the villain here and introduced species are just doing what any of us are trying to do: live.
So it is a bit of a complicated issue (to say the least) and I am not going to get into it with this little blog post :) That’s what the whole project is for!
I plan to document wild burros across the southwest, observing the species and talking with professionals that are working with them. Examining the plight of wild burros and sharing their lives.
I am not presenting this project as a hard stance on anything. But simply a very straightforward presentation of the facts, with a beautiful collection of photographs and field notes.
I am fascinated by wild burros. And for this project, that’s enough.
I hope you’ll all enjoy the wild burros as I learn about them and observe their world. I personally have found the time I’ve spent with them so far to be extremely soothing and interesting. I love their personalities and I love the biomes they call home. I admire their ability to thrive. It should be a fascinating journey traveling the southwest to find them and tell their stories.
Regardless of your stance on introduced species, I hope you will come along with me on this project!