International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros – How Much Do Burros Weigh?

Last year a good friend of mine began to tell me about this issue which we were having here in Texas regarding burros. I had never even considered that these animals could be causing a problem in the state, but it turns out that they are. In light of this, and as I found out more on the subject, I began to make a small donation each month to the fabulous International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros. What this organization does is help to basically rid the state of burros, by taking them into captivity and stopping them from causing issues.

Because these animals are not from the state, they are messing up so many eco-systems and causing a huge problems to both plants and wildlife. Since I have been giving to this organization however, I have learned an awful lot about these creature, check it out.

What is a Burro?

Prior to working with the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros I honestly thought that a burro was just a donkey. As it happens, this is technically true, yet we use the word burro to describe donkeys which are wild. And so essentially they are the same animal, yet a donkey is where it should be, and a burro ain’t.

How Much Do They Weigh?

The answer to this question of course factors in both burros and donkeys, given that they are one in the same animal, no matter how they may happen to behave. Generally speaking these animals can grow as high as 125 centimeters. This of course changes somewhat for donkeys, not because of their chemical makeup but rather because they often have a much greater involvement with humans, who will feed them more, and different foods.

In terms of the weight of the burro, generally speaking we are looking at a weight range between 400-550 lbs. Once again we have to factor in those donkeys which live with humans and which have a steady and very dependable source of food coming in. Additionally those which are not living in the wild will burn less calories as they will wander far less in search of food.

How Much Do They Eat?

Burros will generally eat a very basic diet of grass, although they are known to eat a shrub when things get a little bit more difficult. Incredibly these animals will go through around 2720kg of food each and every year, according to the Global Invasive Species Database. Fascinatingly these animals actually have the ability to utilize 95% of all the food which they consume, making sure that they take almost every nutrient out of that food which they will use as they wander through the plains.

And so sadly burros do cause us an issue here in Texas but there is much good work being done to ensure that this becomes a thing of the past.