- Diesel the donkey went missing five years ago
A donkey named Diesel has been spotted as the alpha male in a deer pack in California after running away from his owners five years ago.
Terri Drewry was hiking when her favorite donkey ran away after being scared by a mountain lion.
Diesel was seen on a trail camera several months later, but he was nowhere to be found. Despite a months-long search for her beloved pet, Terri and her husband Dave gave up.
But this year, while on a hunting trip in Auburn, California, athlete Max Fennell discovered something unusual: a donkey living among a herd of elk.
Amazed, Fennell took a video of Diesel standing in the middle of the herd, while the donkey and elk all looked at Fennell.
Max Fennell was hunting in Auburn, California, when he saw something strange: a donkey among a herd of elk
Fennell said Diesel seemed like the alpha male of the pack, while the other animals seemed to move like him and follow him
Fennell (pictured) was surprised by the donkey sighting
Terri Drewry lost her favorite donkey Diesel five years ago after he wandered off during a hike when he was scared by a mountain lion
You then see how the animals turn around and run away together.
‘Probably one of my wildest hunting trips yet. I came across a herd of elk that adopted a donkey. I can’t help but see it and I’m amazed that the donkey looks happy and healthy!’, Fennell said on Instagram, where he shared the video.
Speak with Inside edition of the donkey sighting, Fennell said, “It seemed like the donkey might be the leader because if Diesel moved, the other elk would move too.”
“Apparently a warden in that area had found a dead mountain lion that they suspected had been killed by an ungulate. They suspected that Diesel might have killed that mountain lion,” he added.
When she found out Diesel was alive, she was elated.
“It was amazing, it was like he was there, now we know he’s alive and well living his best life,” Terrie told Inside Edition.
But Terri said she has come to terms with the fact that she won’t be reunited with her donkey Diesel.
“In a perfect world, we would absolutely love to have him home, but the fact is he’s out there loose and free with that herd of elk and he’s earned his freedom at this point.”