07/20/2025
Continuing our Black Hills adventure, later that afternoon we returned to Custer State Park in the hopes of seeing the resident b***o herd up close. The b***os, although technically feral, are extremely social and are pet and fed by hundreds of people a day, and are essentially tame. The park allows people to get out of their vehicles to pet and interact with the donkeys, and they are hugely popular. All of the park's gift stores carry numerous donkey-themed shirts, magnets, stuffed animals, and knicknacks. (I stocked up- they have some adorable things for very reasonable prices!)
In fact, at one point South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks wanted to remove all the donkeys from the park, since they are not native to the area and are considered an invasive species. Public outcry was so great that the idea was abandoned, although the park does maintain the herd at 12 adult b***os by auctioning off the foals every year.
The herd was greatly affected by the Legion Lake wildfire in December, 2017, which burned over 53,000 acres. The fire caused burns and injuries to all 9 b***os that lived in the park at the time, and tragically, three b***os ended up having to be euthanized. The remaining six b***os were treated by local veterinarians for months before eventually bring re-released into the park. Four wild donkeys were also donated by a local ranch and were added to the herd, which today stands at twelve adult b***os (1 intact male, or jack, and 11 females, or jennies.)
As we drove the Wildlife Loop Road, we noticed a group of cars pulled off the side of the road, and getting closer, we saw the infamous Begging Burros! Of course, we stopped and got out of our car to go meet these notorious residents! I reminded the boys to be cautious, and off we went. The donkeys were just off the side of the road, surrounded by people petting and feeding them. I saw that the black jenny we had spotted just after giving birth earlier that day had rejoined the herd, although she was not letting anyone close to her or her newborn baby. (Good job, mama!)
The first thing I noticed about the b***os, besides how adorable they were, was that they were all incredibly obese. In the span of less than five minutes I watched numerous people feed 5 pound bags of carrots and apples, and the donkeys, being notorious gluttons, gobbled them up without hesitation. I was adamant that we were not going to feed them, but would offer ear rubs and scratches instead. A few jennies, (the shorter, fattest white ones,) were obviously annoyed when we didn't offer treats, and with pinned ears and a tail swish they marched away, looking for an easier target.
The rest of the jennies and the gorgeous jack enjoyed ear rubs and butt scratches, and we were able to pet the three older babies who had the softest, velvety coats I have ever felt! It was interesting to note that several of the b***os had crumpled and mangled ear tips, which I assume are possibly injuries from the wildfire. I was surprised at the size of some of the donkeys- several of the jennies and the jack stood probably at least 13 hands high, with incredibly solid and thick bone. We spent quite some time enjoying the donkeys, offering pets and watching the babies frolic.
We also spent over an hour with them on our last morning in the park, where after driving the Wildlife Loop with no sightings, I asked Adam if we could backtrack to the Bison Center and ask the rangers there if they had any idea where the b***os were. (They keep an updated map with recent locations of both bison and b***os.) As we pulled into the center, we spotted the donkeys hanging out just outside of the parking lot! It was fairly early, and we had the whole herd to ourselves for quite a while, which was awesome. Eventually some park employees arrived, and we talked for quite a bit about how amazing donkeys are. 😊
It was incredibly fun to meet the famous Begging Burros, and it was a definite highlight of an all around amazing trip!
