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Monday, June 28, 2010

Burros@ Red rock Canyon, Calico Basin,Vegas

Howdee all,

A few forgotten photos…

Taken this past winter in one of our favorite place to hike and take in the Red rocks.

Right outside of the city limits of Las Vegas.

Red Rock Canyon.

calico basin walk _059“Burros evolved in the deserts of northern Africa where the average rainfall is about two inches a year. Two populations of burros from northern Africa that were separated from each other by natural barriers are attributed with being the ancestors of today's feral burro in the American southwest. These are the Nubian and the Somalian. The Nubian's characteristics are a black stripe across the shoulders and another down the middle of the back giving the appearance of a cross when viewed from above. The Somalian has leg stripes on both front and hind legs resembling a zebra's markings. These characteristic differences may be seen in the numerous individual burros which freely roam Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.”calico basin walk _060   These are the Nubians..calico basin walk _061”Early explorers brought both horses and burros to the New World. Some of these animals were released or escaped to the deserts of the southwestern United States and Mexico. With the discovery of more gold and silver in the 1800's, miners brought more burros with them. These animals added to the small early populations and began to breed and increase in numbers. At one time more than 10,000 wild burros were found in California, Arizona, and Nevada. Today there are about 7,000 burros in this region.”calico basin walk _063”Burros have only two natural predators. The mountain lion preys on all burros. The coyote usually preys on the young, very old, crippled or sick animals as nature's way of maintaining a healthy population. With today's reduced number of mountain lions, there are few natural predators to check the growth of wild burro populations. “  calico basin walk _066

“Wild burros can be domesticated. When burros are removed from the Red Rock Canyon area, they are adopted by individuals through the BLM's adoption program. If you are interested in the Bureau's wild horse and burro management efforts or you wish to adopt a wild horse or burro, please contact:”

Bureau of Land Management
Las Vegas District Office
PO Box 26569
Las Vegas, NV 89126
702-363-1921

calico basin walk _067

We are having a great time in CT with my family and visits with our daughter.

This week we head to Cape Cod to visit Jeff's side of the family..then a week in Acadia National park with our daughter.

Hope you are all having a wonderful summer.

8 comments:

  1. Dawn, you captured the beauty of the arid landscape perfectly - makes me want to visit that area again!

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  2. Dawn--love the burro photos. I hope you enjoy Acadia as much as we did when we visited a few years ago.

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  3. We share the same burro history at the canyon and even after a major removal back in the 1970s there are still some left in the west end.

    I really do need to visit Red Rock Canyon. Just wish it wasn't so close to Vegas.

    Have a great time in Acadia. I really look forward of pics from there.

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  4. These are beautiful shots. I never knew much about burros -- they sure are cute! Hope your summer is going well.

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  5. Beautiful shots of the land and the charming burros. And thanks for the info - I didn't know the history of the tough little fellows.

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  6. All beautiful shots, but that first one is amazing! It's practically a painting. :)

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  7. Beautiful shots from Red Rock. Neat seeing wild burros! It looks like a wonderful place to explore. Have a safe and Happy 4th of JULY!

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  8. What last picture. . . quite a view! WOW! It's always interesting to see where you'll take us--the Adam Lambert concert was certainly a surprise! The shoe shot tickled me.

    Cape Cod. . . ahhhhh!

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ok what do you really think?????