So you want to adopt a burro?

Here's a helpful tip: Before you adopt a wild burro, be sure to check your homeowners association rules.

Also, if the burro you choose is female, there is a pretty good chance she's already pregnant.

"And they're stubborn, of course," said Krystal Johnson, a wild horse and burro specialist for the Bureau of Land Management.

Valley residents will get their first chance in years to take home a wild burro when the BLM holds an open adoption from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Oliver Ranch in Red Rock Canyon.

It has been more than five years since the last adoption event in Clark County exclusively for burros. As of Monday morning, the bureau had 11 animals available, but the agency hopes to have about 30 in hand by Saturday.

A BLM crew is in the second week of a roundup in Blue Diamond, where burros have been tearing up yards and lingering near state Route 159, waiting for motorists to stop and feed them.

Many of the burros gathered were lured into a temporary corral in Blue Diamond Park by a BLM staff member shaking a bag of pretzels.

When wild animals lose their fear of people and come to depend on handouts, the results can be tragic, Johnson said. In the past two years, 13 burros have died in collisions with vehicles in and around Red Rock Canyon.

The good news in this case, she said: The animals now up for adoption are so used to human contact, it shouldn't take much work to domesticate them.

Most people keep burros as pets or train them as pack animals, Johnson said. "There's a few people who try riding them, which is pretty funny to see," she said.

Not just anyone can adopt a wild burro. You must be at least 18 years old and have no convictions for animal cruelty or violations of the federal Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.

You also must demonstrate that you can provide your burro with food, water and a place live, namely an enclosure covering at least 400 square feet with shelter from the weather.

Other things to know before you decide to adopt:

They tend to weigh between 400 and 500 pounds, and annual care and feeding runs more than $1,000.

Also, Johnson said: "They are loud. When it's feeding time, they'll definitely let you know. Your neighbors will definitely know it's feeding time, too."

Adoptions on Saturday will be first-come, first-served. Before you take a burro home, you will have to fill out an application and pay an adoption fee of $125 for a single animal or $200 for a jenny and her foal. The animals remain property of the federal government for the first year after adoption, but then you can apply for a certificate of title to privatize your burro.

Johnson said any animals that don't find homes Saturday will be sent to the bureau's facility in Ridgecrest, Calif., to be included in national adoption events.

"Hopefully we'll get them adopted," she said. "Hopefully some people will pay attention and quit feeding these critters and let them just be wild."

Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350.