On January 9th, 2024, the Bureau of Land Management began a helicopter roundup and removal of Arizona's Black Mountain wild burros. The federal agency is contracting Cattoor Livestock to capture and remove up to 1,000 wild burros.
The Black Mountain Herd Management Area (HMA) spans an impressive 1.1 million acres and encompasses public, state, tribal, and private lands in Mohave County, AZ. The BLM estimates the current population of the Black Mountain HMA is 1,925 wild burros, making it one of the most genetically diverse wild burros herds left in the American Southwest. An unscientfic population limit, the Appropriate Management Level (AML), set by the BLM is 478 wild burros.
Post Roundup Summary
Jan 8, 2024 - Jan 24, 2024
During the four days of observation, no concerning trends emerged; roundups appeared to proceed smoothly. Operations captured 150 more burros than its goal and administered none of the forty fertility control target according to BLM report. Note, jennies have reportedly been held for treatment.
Contractor: Cattoor Livestock Roundup, Inc. Paid $371,200.
Short-term holding (STH): Florence Off-Range Wild Horse and Burro Corrals (AZ) or Ridgecrest Regional Wild Horse and Burro Corrals (CA)
Final totals*According to BLM report
Captured: 1,150 Wild Burros (461 Jacks, 524 Jennies, 165 Foals)—over BLM target.
Shipped: 1,102 Wild Burros (455 Jacks, 484 Jennies, 163 Foals)—over BLM target.
Released: 47 Burros—over BLM target.
Herd reduction: 57%*According to BLM's estimated population
2 Deaths.*According to BLM report
AWHC is on the ground at this operation, read our daily reports below.
January 24, 2024*According to BLM report
Summary: Operations concluded. Twelve additional Jennies held for PZP treatment.
Total shipped today: 138 (28 Jacks, 83 Jennies, and 27 Foals)*to Florence, AZ
January 23, 2024*According to BLM report
Weather: 47°-52°F. Rain on off all day.
Daily total
Captured: 126 (41 Jacks, 63 Jennies, and 22 Foals)
Shipped: 67 (21 Jacks, 23 Jennies, and 23 Foals)*to Florence, AZ
January 22, 2024
Summary: There were no operations today. The new trap site was set up, but operations were prevented by heavy rains and a delayed helicopter.
January 21, 2024
Location: ~25 miles Southwest of Kingman, AZ (same as the 17th, 18th, and 20th)
Weather: Upper 40s°-low 50s°F. Low Clouds and rain.
Summary: Operations continued at the same trap site as the previous three days of operations. Three groups of burros were trapped. Some burros scattered in the trap wings, resulting in one burro being roped and others brought in by helicopter later. The trap site will be moved tomorrow. Early ends to operations allowed for a visit to temporary holding. A veterinarian was onsite and burros appeared mostly calm and were actively eating.
Total captured today: 39 (20 jacks, 12 jennies, 7 foals)*According to BLM report
Timeline
~7:00 AM: Met at the turnoff to observation site
8:00 AM: Arrived at observation viewpoint
10:00 AM: First sounds of the helicopter, still out of site
10:17 AM: Helicopter refueled
~11:00 AM: A group of 20+ burros is trapped
11:27 AM: A small group enters the trap wings, but scatter before reaching the trap
A wrangler pushed two burros into the trap
A few burros tried to run out of the trap wings. One burro was roped, other burros escaped; roped burro brayed and resisted wrangling.
11:48 AM: The roped burro enters the trap
12:05 AM: First full trailer left to temporary holding
12:20 PM: ~10 burros entered the trap
12:26 PM: 2 escaped burros (from 11:27 AM) were trapped
12:30 PM: Helicopted refueled and operations conclude.
Temporary Holding:
AWHC’s observer visited temporary holding in the afternoon, shortly after the burros from today arrived. A veterinarian was onsite, inspecting burros. The burros had fresh hay and water. Aside from a few braying jacks, burros were calm at temporary holding.
Helicopter navigating burros into trap wings.
Burros in the trap, with wranglers coming in behind.
A few burros scattered in the wings, one is roped.
A load of burros heading to temporary holding. The helicopter searching for more burros in the background.
Jennies in temporary holding. Burros eating in holding.
A pen of jacks in holding.
January 20, 2024
Location: ~25 miles Southwest of Kingman, AZ (same as the 17th and 18th)
Weather: 56°-60°F. Cloudy, rained briefly in the AM before observers arrived. Slight winds.
Summary: Communication with the BLM was reportedly good; employees kept AWHC’s onsite observer informed with meet times, delays, and other relevant information. A range of group sizes were trapped (~10-50 burros). A few burros broke off from their group. In one case, a foal separated and was roped. Wranglers used horses to guide the foal, letting him set the pace.
Total captured today: 114 (39 jacks, 55 jennies, 20 foals) *According to BLM report
1 Death.
A jack euthanized at temporary holding due to an old leg break. He was captured on 1/18/24 but the break was not noticed until this morning.
Timeline
- 9:00 AM: Met at the observation point turnoff
- 10:30 AM: Heard the helicopter
- 11:18 AM: Helicopter seen on the horizon a few miles to the south
- 12:18 PM: Six burros pushed ten burros into trap.
- 12:38 PM: A large group headed towards the trap.
- 12:46 PM: ~25 burros entered the wings; a few broke off before entering the wings and ran south
- Pilot refueled
- 1:14 PM: A group of around 14 burros came into the trap.
- 5 broke off from the main group as they entered the wings and ran into the hills
- The pilot retrieved these 5 and they entered the trap at 1:25 PM
- A foal was pursued by two wranglers and the helicopter. Roped at 1:45 PM
- Wranglers guided foal with a horse; it took thirty minutes for the foal to make it to the trap
- The first two loaded trailers headed for temporary holding
- 2:48 PM: Helicopter navigates smaller groups together into the trap
- 3:07 PM: A large group of ~50 burros were trapped
- 3:23 PM: Another dozen burros enter the trap and operations conclude.
- Due to the late hour that burros will arrive to temporary holding pens, temporary holding could not be visited today.
Wranglers.
Wranglers driving burros all the way into the trap, which is just visible over the top of the livestock trailer parked in front.
A group of burros being driven towards the trap.
A foal that had been separated from its group is roped and brought to the trap.
January 19, 2024
Summary: No gather operations. Helicopter maintenance. AWHC’s onsite observer was escorted to temporary holding. It was quiet and burros had plenty of feed and water. After visiting temporary holding, the onsite observer searched for the remaining burros on the back roads of the HMA.
The famed town of Oatman falls within the HMA. An old mining town, it has been a tourist attraction known for wild burros. While it is illegal to feed wild horses and burros, people are able to buy alfalfa cubes to feed the Oatman burros. When asked about this, a BLM representative reports the BLM has an agreement with the town to allow only ten burros. However, there is a lack of education about feeding the burros outside of the town. An observer saw a number of people feeding these burros, attracting them to dangerous areas (i.e. a busy, curvy road). Risk for vehicle collisions are increased, endangered both burros and humans.
If you are planning on visiting a wild burro HMA, read AWHC’s simple guidelines to ensure safety.
Timeline
- 11:00 AM: Visited temporary holding. Most burros had already been shipped
- A pen of jacks, another with jennies, treated with PZP remained at temporary holding. A range of colors have been selected for release.
- Plenty of feed and water
- Quiet at holding site. Only the onsite BLM PR and contractors were present, feeding and watering the burros.
- After visiting temporary holding, AWHC’s onsite observer explored HMA backroads. Many ATVs were present. Several mining sites were on the HMA.
- A few small burro group were visible off the road over a course of 10 miles. They were wild and apprehensive of people.
- Outside of Oatman, a small group of burros was lingered by the road. Four cars stopped to feed burros (an ordinance violation) attracting them to a dangerous curve in the road. Burros remained in the road after cars left and continued to approach incoming cars—a high risk for collisions.
Burros treated with PZP at temporary holding that may be selected for release. A variety of colors have been chosen to introduce more color variety into the HMA.
Groups of wild burros along the backroads of Black Mountain HMA.
January 18, 2024
Location: ~25 miles Southwest of Kingman, AZ
Weather: 40°-59°F. Sunny with light winds.
Summary: ~50 burros were already trapped when AWHC’s onsite observer met with BLM staff. Between runs, the BLM escorted AWHC to the observation area, a ¼ mile from the trap site. Vegetation and topography obscured the trap site; burros could still be seen in the wings of the trap and on livestock trailers headed to temporary holding. Several large groups (>40 burros) were trapped. Due to transportation of burros continuing until dark, AWHC’s observer was not able to visit temporary holding today.
Total captured today: 171 (51 jacks, 95 jennies, and 25 foals)*According to BLM report
Timeline
- 9-10 AM: Observers waited outside a kiosk at Route 66 to be brought to the public viewpoint.
- ~50 burros were gathered prior to the arrival of AWHC’s onsite observer.
- 11:00 AM: Drove to the observation area. Observation site was ~1/4 mile from trap site.
- Terrain, bushes, and contractor vehicles obscured view of the trap.
- Shortly before 1:00 PM: A large group of burros (40-45) ran into the wings.
- Pushed by the helicopter, followed by six wranglers.
- Two trailers w/ burros departed to temporary holding.
- 2:00 PM: A large group of burros is brought towards the trap
- 2:14 PM: A group of ~10 burros are trapped followed by a group of 50+ and a band of six that had broken away earlier.
- Operations concluded.
Temporary holding: Observers were unable tour temporary holding; late in the day, burros were being brought inside. Rough dirt roads required extra time to trailer burros, causing the late arrival.
Observer view of trap site.
Helicopter pushing a group into the trap. Bottom left are the trap wings' jute (tarp).
Wranglers pursuing a burro.
Burros shipping to temporary holding.
Part 1: A large group of Black Mountain burros brought into the trap. Video shows the wings of the trap, the helicopter pressuring burros towards the trap, and wranglers pushing the burros into the trap.
Part 2: Burros on a livestock trailer headed to temporary holding
January 17, 2024*According to BLM report
Weather: 52°- 61°F
Daily total
Captured: 143 (61 Jacks, 69 Jennies, and 13 Foals)
Shipped: 76 (0 Jacks, 42 Jennies, and 34 Foals)*shipped to Ridgecrest, CA
1 Death.
13-year-old male euthanized due to old break in neck. Burro had possible neurological issues per veterinarian on site.
January 16, 2024*According to BLM report
Weather: 36°- 65°F
Daily total
Captured: 76 (23 Jacks, 40 Jennies, and 13 Foals)
Shipped: 59 (59 Jacks, 0 Jennies, and 0 Foals)*shipped to Ridgecrest, CA
January 15, 2024*According to BLM report
Weather: 40°- 68°F
Daily total
Captured: 90 (53 Jacks, 25 Jennies, and 12 Foals)
Shipped: 54 (19 Jacks, 35 Jennies, and 0 Foals)*shipped to Ridgecrest, CA
January 14, 2024*According to BLM report
Weather: 43°- 64°F
Daily Total
Captured: 69 (25 Jacks, 31 Jennies, and 13 Foals)
Shipped: 61 (21 Jacks, 21 Jennies, and 19 Foals)*shipped to Ridgecrest, CA
January 13, 2024*According to BLM report
Weather: Cloudy 32°- 61°F
Daily total
Captured: 63 (22 Jacks, 31 Jennies, and 10 Foals)
Shipped: 49 (29 Jacks, 20 Jennies, and 0 Foals)*shipped to Ridgecrest, CA
January 12, 2024*According to BLM report
Weather: Cloudy 40°-52°F, winds varied from 10-15 gust up to 30 from the northwest.
Daily total
Captured: 60 (29 Jacks, 25 Jennies, and 6 Foals)
Shipped: 46 (32 Jacks, 14 Jennies, and 0 Foals) *shipped to Ridgecrest, CA
January 11, 2024*According to BLM report
Weather: Cloudy 40°-52°F, winds varied from 10-15 gust up to 30 from the northwest.
Daily total
Captured: 55 (34 Jacks, 19 Jennies, and 4 Foals)
Shipped: 55 (17 Jacks, 21 Jennies, and 17 Foals)*shipped to Ridgecrest, CA
January 10, 2024*According to BLM report
Weather: 37°-50°F, light winds from the north.
Daily total
Captured: 24 (17 Jacks, 4 Jennies, and 3 Foals)
Shipped: 49 (30 Jacks, 19 Jennies, and 0 Foals)*shipped to Ridgecrest, CA
January 9, 2024*According to BLM report
Weather: 36°-54°F, light winds from the north, partly cloudy in afternoon.
Daily total
Captured: 80 (30 Jacks, 36 Jennies, and 14 Foals)
Last updated July, 2024