Spain’s ‘Firefighting’ Donkeys Have Helped Keep Doñana National Park Free of Wildfires for Nearly a Decade
Spain’s ‘Firefighting’ Donkeys Have Helped Keep Doñana National Park Free of Wildfires for Nearly a Decade
While firefighters race toward wildfires, a team of 18 unlikely heroes spends every day making sure those fires never start in the first place.
In southern Spain, a herd of rescued donkeys has quietly become one of nature’s most effective wildfire prevention crews. By doing nothing more than grazing on dry grass and thick brush, the animals have helped reduce the vegetation that fuels dangerous fires in and around Doñana National Park, one of Europe’s most important protected natural areas.
The results have been remarkable. After the donkey brigade was introduced, the park went nine years without recording a single forest fire.
The four legged firefighting team is part of a project led by the nonprofit El Burrito Feliz and supported by volunteers from Mujeres por Doñana. Every day from March through November, the donkeys are released into hard to reach areas where fire crews and heavy equipment often cannot easily operate.
Instead of hoses and axes, they rely on healthy appetites.
Working up to seven hours a day, the donkeys graze on dry grass, shrubs, and scrub vegetation that can become dangerous fuel during Spain’s hot, dry summers. Unlike cattle or sheep, donkeys are able to eat much tougher and drier plants, making them especially well suited for clearing fire prone landscapes.
The nonprofit affectionately calls them “herbivorous firefighters.”
Among the herd are donkeys named Mortadelo, Magallanes, Leonor, Ainoa, and their unofficial leader, Galileo.
Chief donkey Galileo / Credit: inspain.news
Galileo has an especially unusual backstory.
He was rescued as a young donkey in extremely poor health and spent his first few months recovering in a dog shelter before eventually finding a permanent home with El Burrito Feliz. According to his caretakers, he picked up a few canine habits along the way. They say he sniffs like a dog and has even tried to bark, earning him a reputation as the donkey who thinks he’s a dog.
Today, that quirky personality helps him lead the herd as they patrol the countryside.
The animals are accompanied throughout the day by volunteers from Mujeres por Doñana, who haul carts filled with buckets of water so the hardworking donkeys can stay hydrated while they graze.
Their work has even attracted the attention of Spain’s Military Emergency Unit, whose members visited the project and symbolically adopted one of the donkeys in recognition of its service.
Experts say the project demonstrates how simple, natural solutions can make a meaningful difference.
