Wild burros weighing as much as 500 pounds have been showing up on the University of California, Riverside campus, prompting administrators to warn students to keep their distance from the animals.
The donkeys have been spotted near dorms, including two recently photographed close to Lothian Residence Hall. University officials shared the images but paired them with a clear message: do not approach or feed the animals.
Officials say feeding the burros can interfere with their natural foraging habits and make them less cautious around humans and vehicles. Drivers on campus roads and in parking lots are being urged to slow down, since the animals sometimes wander into traffic.
The burros come from a herd of several hundred that lives in the nearby Box Springs Mountain Reserve and surrounding Inland Empire hills. As vegetation dries out in the summer and fall, the campus’s greener grounds become an attractive place to graze, which is believed to explain why the animals have been turning up more often.
Sightings near campus reportedly became more frequent starting around 2021 and have been a regular occurrence since 2023.
A history of deadly encounters
The university’s caution is rooted in past incidents involving the burros and traffic. In 2020, five burros were killed and a driver was injured when a herd wandered onto the 215 Freeway. The following year, six donkeys died after being struck by a train in San Timoteo Canyon.
Wild burros can also be dangerous up close. Some shepherds in Northern California use donkeys to guard livestock against wolves, relying on the animals’ strong bites and kicks to fend off predators — the same defenses that can make them hazardous to humans if they feel threatened.
An unexpected upside
Not everyone sees the burros as a nuisance. One community member suggested the animals’ grazing habits could help reduce fire risk in the area.
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