The Daily Populous Friday May 8th, 2026 morning edition
Image from preview.redd.it and submitted by unburnt_hydrocarbon

unburnt_hydrocarbon on May 7th, 2026 at 23:36 UTC »

A crappy situation turned into a happy ending thanks to the quick teamwork of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and some helpful neighbors in northwestern Arizona.

One morning, the BLM’s Kingman Field Office got an unusual report: a wild burro had fallen into a septic tank in an RV park along the Oatman Highway in Golden Valley, Arizona. This area is known for the Black Mountain Herd Management Area (HMA) and home to the largest herd of wild and free roaming burros in the country.

BLM wild horse and burro specialists Chad Benson and Eric Duarte immediately responded and upon arrival found the wild burro struggling to hold its head above the water and raw sewage in the septic tank — the tank was about six feet deep and the burro managed to somehow stand on its back legs and hold its head just outside the septic tanks lid. The burro was clearly exhausted, and the specialist knew they needed to act fast.

Although unknown on exactly how or when the burro fell into the tank, RV park residents believed he’d been stuck in the cold, wet septic tank overnight. While approximately 75 degrees outside during the day, it had been about 40 degrees that night and potentially even chillier in the tank!

Working with the RV park’s maintenance crew, the team decided the best and safest option was to pump the sewage out, carefully cut open the top and use heavy equipment to lift the burro out of the tank. Soon, it would be all hands on deck to rescue the burro.

https://www.blm.gov/blog/2026-05-05/wild-burros-crappy-situation-rescue-thanks-blm-and-helpful-neighbors

Dudephish on May 8th, 2026 at 00:46 UTC »

Eeorigin story.

ResplendentShade on May 8th, 2026 at 01:19 UTC »

Great example of why deep holes should always be capped. Deep open holes are death traps for both wildlife and people, so basically all jurisdictions in the US require this, including most commonly with old wells. Your local division of water is always looking to catalog all wells and make sure they're safe, they can help with assessment if you have an old well or something on your property.