By Scottie Andrew | CNN
When Diesel the donkey ran away during a hike near his home outside Sacramento five years ago, his owners feared the worst.
“He is not aggressive, he is a lover,” Terrie Drewry told CNN affiliate KOVR in 2019, a number of days after Diesel's great escape. “But right now he's scared.”
Years passed without Diesel giving any sign of life – until earlier this 12 months a hunter within the wilderness of Northern California discovered and filmed a herd of a minimum of a dozen moose. Strangely enough, there was also a wild donkey amongst them.
Drewry is bound that the donkey within the hunter's video is her Diesel.
“We finally saw him,” Drewry told KOVR this month after the Instagram video made headlines. “We finally know he's OK. He's living his best life. He's happy. He's healthy and it was just a relief.”
The Drewry family adopted Diesel from the Bureau of Land Management, and he lived peacefully on their ranch for the primary few years of his life with chickens, a llama, and a miniature donkey.
But on a fateful hike in April 2019, Diesel noticed something that spooked him and took off running, dragging Drewry's husband, Dave, through the bushes behind him, she told KOVR on the time. For weeks, they looked for Diesel within the Cache Creek Wilderness, a rugged area northwest of Sacramento that spans nearly 30,000 acres. They thought they spotted him on a trail camera and once found some tracks which will have matched his hooves, but they never found him.
Enter Max Fennell, an expert triathlete who occasionally hunts with a bow and arrow within the California wilderness. On a hunting trip in March, Fennell stumbled upon a herd of elk—and was astonished to see a burro amongst them.
In a video shot by Fennell, which Drewry said was taken just a number of miles from where Diesel ran off in 2019, the herd might be seen moving in unison. When Fennell spots them, they stop and stare at him.
The animals only move again when the donkey apparently gives the all-clear: after eyeing the incredulous Fennell, the donkey turns its head and trots away. The moose quickly follow it.
Donkeys can’t only clear land, pull carts and usually be cute, but additionally Protection of livestockThe pack animals defend their herds fiercely by screaming, kicking wildly and attacking potential predators with bared teeth.
Drewry suspects that the donkey Fennell discovered, whether it is indeed Diesel, is solely fulfilling his donkey duty and protecting his deer friends.
“They have learned to get along and be a family to each other,” she told KOVR.
A video divided In September last 12 months, Diesel was also reportedly shown together with his moose relatives. The donkey on this clip looked perfectly content as he trotted through the tall yellow grass within the dappled sunlight.
Although she misses him, Drewry said she won't attempt to capture and convey Diesel back. As grazing animals, donkeys normally find plenty to eat within the wild. And the donkey in Fennell's video appears to be thriving within the wild together with his friends by his side.
“He really is a wild donkey now,” she said.
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