Five years ago, a pet donkey in California vanished. He has been observed coexisting with a herd of untamed elk.

TFD – Five years after his mysterious disappearance, Diesel the donkey has been spotted living among a herd of elk in the wilds of Northern California. Once a beloved pet on the Drewry family’s ranch, Diesel’s transformation into a wild burro is nothing short of astonishing.

Five years ago, Diesel the donkey ran away from his owners during a trek near his Sacramento, California, home. They thought the worst.

Days after Diesel’s spectacular escape, Terrie Drewry told CNN station KOVR in 2019 that “he’s not aggressive, he’s a lover.” Currently, though, he is afraid.

Years went by with no evidence of Diesel’s whereabouts until earlier this year, when a hunter in the northern California wilderness sighted and recorded a herd of at least twelve elk. Oddly, there was a wild burro among them.

Drewry is certain that her dog, Diesel, is the donkey in the hunter’s video.

After the Instagram video went viral this month, Drewry told KOVR, “Finally we saw him.” We now have proof that he is good. Living the life of his dreams. He is content. It was simply a relief to hear that he is well.

Diesel was raised peacefully on the Drewry family’s ranch for the first few years of his life, where he shared space with llamas, micro donkeys, and chickens after being adopted from the Bureau of Land Management.

However, she told KOVR at the time that during a disastrous stroll in April 2019, Diesel saw something that alarmed him and went off fleeing, dragging Drewry’s husband Dave into the bushes behind him. They spent weeks looking for Diesel in the roughly 30,000 acres of rough terrain northwest of Sacramento known as the Cache Creek Wilderness. They once discovered some tracks that might have matched his hooves, and they believed they had seen him on a trail camera, but they were never able to locate him.

Enter Max Fennell, a competitive triathlete who occasionally goes bow-and-arrow hunting in the wilds of California. When Fennell came across the elk herd in March while hunting, she was startled to see a donkey among them.

The herd can be seen traveling in sync in a video recorded by Fennell, which Drewry claimed was captured within a few miles from the location where Diesel ran away in 2019. They pause to look at Fennell when he spots them.

The animals remain motionless until the donkey appears to give the all-clear. The burro then turns its head and trots out after assessing a non-convinced Fennell. The elk come running after.

In the Instagram video’s caption, Fennell stated, “Probably one of my wildest hunting trips to date.” “I’m in awe of how content and healthy the donkey appears, and I just can’t stop looking at it!”

In addition to clearing land, pulling wagons and providing general cuteness, donkeys can protect livestock on farms. The animals in packs zealously protect their flocks by howling, kicking ferociously, and lunging with their teeth baring at any prospective attackers.

If Diesel is the donkey that Fennell saw, Drewry believes he’s only carrying out his donkey job and defending his mates who are deer.

She told KOVR, “They learned to be each other’s family and get along.”

Diesel allegedly appeared with his elk relatives in a video that was circulated in September of last year. In that video, the donkey appeared completely satisfied as it ambled across the lush yellow grass under the soft sunlight.

Drewry stated she won’t try to capture Diesel and bring him back, even if she still misses him. Donkeys are grazing animals and can typically find an abundance of food in the wild. Furthermore, the donkey in Fennell’s video seems to be doing well in the wild with companions by his side.

She remarked, “He’s really a wild burro now.”