Title:
Burros Can Do More Than Work Just as Pack Animals
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
See text below
Text:
A burro is a small donkey. The name comes from
Spanish and, before that, from a Latin term for a
small horse. Donkeys are related to horses.
Both are part of the equine family.
Burros reach an average height of more than one
meter. They can weigh more than two hundred
twenty-five kilograms. The long-eared animals are
often gray with white noses, jaws and undersides.
But they can also have coats of red or blue.
Burros are known for their sure footing on mountains
while carrying heavy loads. Americans know about
them mainly from a history of use as pack animals in
Arizona and other areas of the desert Southwest.
Gold miners and others imported them to work.
Animals that escaped or were freed became the
ancestors of burros in the wild today. But burros
are not only good pack animals.
They can also help calm and control nervous horses
and guard sheep and goats on farms. Robin Rivello
from the American Mustang and Burro Association says
burros have even protected farm animals against
bears. People may have the idea that burros and
donkeys do not like being told what to do.
Experts say the animals are not being stubborn. They
just like to take their time to consider what they
will do.
In the United States, there are breeders who raise
and sell burros. Americans can also adopt a burro
removed from the wild by the Bureau of Land
Management, a federal agency.
People who get a wild burro need to "gentle" the
animal. Gentling means training it to accept the
human attention needed for care and grooming.
Burros like to clean each other. These desert
animals groom themselves with dust. So it is normal
for a burro to have some dirt in its coat. A brush
can remove hardened mud.
Experts advise owners not to let their burros eat
too much. Being overweight can ruin their health.
Robin Rivello says a burro's feet should be cleaned
and cared for every six to eight weeks. But she
warns owners not to raise the feet as high as with a
horse.
A burro's legs differ from the legs of a horse. The
pain could make the burro kick.
And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture
Report. Go to voaspecialenglish.com for transcripts,
MP3s and captioned videos of our reports. You can
also follow us on Twitter at VOA Learning English.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
