Took a little jaunt this afternoon out in my playground south of AZ74 north of WhiteWing Rd. near Paddleford Wash. Peoria has tried to fence it off to keep folks out, but I've been roaming that area for over 20 years, and I know where the fences are not. But since there is much reduced human traffic out there compared to years past, I no longer have to compete with other folks out there looking for remote spots to do some shooting or just camp or cruise the sandy washes. There have always been wild burros loose in the area, and I've seen them before. But they usually were at a distance and stayed away from people. But as I was driving my little 2-seater UTV down a trail, suddenly there was a small herd of 7 of them, with 3 being juveniles less than a year old, smack dab in the trail. I expected them to run off before I could whip out my phone to take a picture. But they stood still and just looked at me, wondering what I was gonna do.
I guess their lack of interaction with people these days compared to years past leaves them not as spooked by us. They didn't move until I very slowly at a crawl attempted to drive right through them and continue on the trail. They only stepped a short distance away to clear my path,...just far enough I couldn't touch them. I was tempted to stop and take more photos, but I figured doing so would make them finally depart. So I just slowly continued on.
As I drove around the well-worn trails, I kept spotting piles of donkey poo. So it seems they feel at home in this area and don't roam far. There are homes within a couple miles that have landscaping featuring succulent greenery tasty to burros and fountains to drink from. They are enjoying a nice little refuge in my playground, so I will respect them and do my best to ensure they are not antagonized.
