A pet donkey that escaped his owners five years ago in California has been found “living his best life” with a herd of wild elk.
As the BBC and CBS News report, Terrie and Dave Drewry, of Auburn, are convinced the animal, filmed by a hiker earlier in June, is their pet “Diesel”. The couple say they are relieved the animal is safe – and have decided to let him wander free with a new family as a “wild burro” .
In 2019, while Mr. Drewery had been on a hiking trip with Diesel near Clear Lake, California, the burro got spooked and took off. In the ensuing weeks, the Drewry’s organized several volunteer seraches, but they all proved fruitless. “We finally kind of gave up,” Mrs Drewry told CBS. “Just no signs of him.”
Some trail camera images a few months after the burro had disappeared was the last time Diesel had been seen… until now. Hiker Max Fennell spotted the wild elk herd earlier this month, describing the donkey he recorded as appearing “happy and healthy”, and posted his video on social media.
“It was amazing. It was like, oh my gosh. Finally, we saw him. Finally, we know he’s good. He’s living his best life. He’s happy. He’s healthy, and it was just a relief,” Mrs. Drewry said. “Two completely different creatures, but they learn to get along and be each other’s family,” she added.
The elk herd is a few miles away from where Diesel first went missing and in an area where there are no wild donkeys recorded. Mrs. Drewry says Diesel is about eight years old, and donkeys have been known to live for as long as 40 years.
The Drewrys have adopted new donkeys since Diesel’s disappearance and do not plan on trying to capture their missing pet. To catch him would be next to impossible,” Mrs. Drewry said. “He is truly a wild burro now. He’s out there doing what he’s raised to do.”
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Photo Credit: Annabell Gsoedl / Shutterstock.com