A hunter in Northern California stumbled upon a queer sight while out in the Cache Creek Wilderness—a donkey that had seemingly been adopted by a herd of elk.
The video he posted on his Instagram channel marks the first update on the status of Diesel, a local donkey separated from its owners back in 2019.
When out hiking with Dave Drewry, a local of Clear Lake, something spooked Diesel sending him running off into the woods. Drewry and his wife Terrie looked all over the nearby territory on foot, in their car, and even with drones, but could not locate their beloved donkey.
Over the years, the family was always saddened at the mention of their lost family member, believing that he didn’t have the minerals to survive in the wild.
Now five years later, triathlon and hunter Max Fennell posted a video on Instagram of a healthy adult donkey right in the middle of a herd of cow elk.
“I bumped into a herd of elk that have adopted a donkey. I can’t get over seeing it and I’m amazed that the donkey looks happy and healthy!” he wrote alongside the video.
The discovery made its way through the airwaves to Terrie and Dave, who said it was “amazing” to see him.
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“He’s living his best life,” Mrs. Drewry told CBS News Sacramento. “He’s happy. He’s healthy, and it was just a relief.”
Despite her and her husband’s nerves about his chances, Diesel was originally a feral donkey adopted by the Drewrys through a program run by the Bureau of Land Management that allows the public to take custody of wild horses, donkeys, and mules they find on America’s landscapes.
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The Drewrys have since adopted new donkeys, and they said there is no intention on their part to try and capture Diesel. By Terrie’s reckoning, Diesel would be 8 years old, with about three-quarters of his life ahead of him if he could stay abreast of the wolf’s jaws and winter’s cold.
“To catch him would be next to impossible,” Terrie said. “He is truly a wild burro now.”
WATCH the video below…
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