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Riders may get irritated with their horses for pawing the ground but it turns out that equids’ ability to dig can have huge benefits for the ecosystem. Wild equids in the North American desert have been found to dig wells up to six feet deep to access fresh water. These mini-oases provide water for scores of other species, according to a paper published by Erick Lundgren and others in this month’s journal Science (30 April). Burros (donkeys) and horses are introduced species to the American west, living in scattered herds across deserts such as the Mojave in California and Sonoran in west...

A wild donkey digs a well in the Sonoran Desert, in the US. Photo: Erick Lundgren The ability of horses and donkeys to dig for water in dryland ecosystems can provide important benefits to other species, researchers have found. Erick Lundgren and his colleagues, in a study titled Equids engineer desert water availability, noted that large animals play important roles in the biosphere, yet little is known about how they shape dryland ecosystems. “We report on an overlooked form of ecosystem engineering by donkeys and horses,” they wrote in the journal Science. In the deserts of North Ame...

Horsetalk.co.nz Feral desert donkeys are digging wells, giving water to parched wildlife A kulan in central Asia digging a well. (Petra Kaczensky) Researchers Erick Lundgren, Arian Wallach, and Daniel Ramp, all with the University of Technology Sydney, describe the remarkable well-digging abilities of equids in desert environments. In the heart of the world’s deserts – some of the most expansive wild places left on Earth – roam herds of feral donkeys and horses. These are the descendants of a once-essential but now-obsolete labour force. These wild animals are generally conside...

Here's How Donkeys And Horses Digging Holes Help Desert Species Beat The Heat ISSAM AHMED, AFP 30 APRIL 2021 For thousands of years, horses and donkeys have been some of our species' most important partners.  A new study published Thursday shows they're also friends to desert animals and plants, by digging deep wells that provide a vital source of water, especially at the height of summer.   Biologist Erick Lundgren, lead author of the paper in Science, told AFP he first began noticing the phenomenon while working in western Arizona as a field technician studying river systems. "People ...

Burros in Arizona. Credit: Bureau of Land Management. The first horses and donkeys came to the Americas on ships during Christopher Columbus’ Second Voyage. Although they were essential to European colonization, the two animals are typically seen as invasive species that are not part of the local wildlife. But rather than harming other animals, wild horses and donkeys in North America may actually help local plants and animals thrive by digging deep wells that provide water in the desert. The desert’s ecosystem engineers Wild horses, known as mustangs, are often in the spotlight, but the ...