Had this mule just watched Shrek? Because he certainly found something very amusing.
The ass – which bears a striking similarity to Donkey from the movies – just couldn’t stop pulling comical faces.
He was captured on camera by wildlife photographer Mick Gallagher – who spent months trying to get close to the group.
And when one animal finally decided to pose for the camera, it seems he found something to smile about – with hilarious results.
Mick, 42, who has been working as a professional photographer after he was made redundant from his marketing job during the economic downturn, has tried to build a bond with the animals, which roam in the Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area, Nevada.
He said: ‘The laughing photo was taken during a three-day trip to Vegas at the end of 2011. I was hiking in one of my favourite locations and searching for the burros so I could shoot them at sunset in the hazy, dusty orange light just before sunset.
‘I found one of the packs and gently moved closer, until I was within just a few yards. I knelt down and waited, camera ready.
‘Finally, one of the younger and friendlier burros became curious and slowly walked up to me, sniffed me and the camera, then took a step back and treated me to a huge bray that allowed me to fire off the best series of wild burro shots I’ve taken to date.
‘It was a great moment for me as a photographer, and deepened my emotional connection with these wonderful wild creatures.
‘It looked just like he was throwing his head back and laughing.
‘I discovered the burros in 2009 during one of my first hikes.
‘I soon learned that there are nearly a dozen groups of wild burros in Red Rock Canyon, all segregated into tight family packs and each distinguishable by the color of their coat.
‘These burros are the progeny of animals originally brought to the Las Vegas area in the late 1800s and early 1900s by gold and silver prospectors, miners, ranchers and cowboys.
‘Generally, they avoid human contact and keep away from vehicles and hikers, though a few burros have learned to beg for food from passing motorists and will tolerate close contact until the food runs out. Then they quickly fall back into the desert scrub and resume grazing as they slowly drift back and forth in the park, avoiding the main hiking trails and tourists.
‘Over the course of the years I spent in Red Rock Canyon, I encountered the same two bands of burros numerous times as I trekked off-trail.
‘For those first months they quickly moved away from me as soon as they noticed my presence, but over time they became accustomed to me until finally they let me get within a few yards of them and would actually allow me to drift with the pack and shoot them.
‘I’ve always been an outdoorsman and explorer, and I’m constantly surprised and awed by what I find in my travels and by the emotional impact nature can have on me.
‘It’s a clichi, I know, but the staggering beauty and stunning subtlety of nature – the colours and shapes, the infinite iterations, the grace, fun and heartiness of wildlife in difficult, and oftentimes, extreme environments – resonates inside me like nothing else I’ve ever experienced.
‘Capturing that as best I can and sharing it with the world is the most natural thing I can ever see myself doing.’
Source: dailymail
