Oatman, AZ - Attack of the Burros

A century ago, prospector Jose Jerez was searching for his strayed burros in the hills of northwest Arizona when he accidentally discovered gold. Soon, nearby Oatman became a gold mining boomtown. At its height in the late 1920s, Oatman had about 10,000 residents, mostly miners. Today there are about 150 residents. Well, human ones, anyway.

When mining stopped in the 1940s, miners simply got up and left, leaving everything behind. Including the dozens and dozens of burros that worked the mines.

The descendants of these wild burros still wander through the hills and streets and backyards today.