A free-roaming donkey called Cupid is healing after a medical procedure after being hit with an arrow in what authorities label the latest in a series of half a dozen attacks since June on donkeys that wander partly rural areas of the state's southeastern region.
Rescue Efforts In Progress
The juvenile female donkey was spotted last Wednesday with a colored projectile embedded in her upper body as she wandered with a group in the rolling hills of the region.
Wildlife rescuers and the county law enforcement responded and assisted in transporting the wounded animal in for an urgent operation to remove the arrowhead. The arrow had penetrated the burro’s chest cavity.
“She is currently stable and is standing, which is a huge positive sign,” an animal advocate commented.
When Cupid is back to health, she will be introduced to a collection of rescued burros who meander a 2,000-acre preserve and protected habitat.
Incentive Announced for Tips
The non-profit is offering a twenty-four thousand dollar reward, raised from donations, for information resulting in the apprehension and sentencing of those connected in no fewer than six arrow assaults on burros over the recent period.
The local agency of animal services confirmed that the probe is continuing, and appealed for the community’s assistance in identifying a responsible party.
Legally Guarded Animals
Feral donkeys are safeguarded under U.S. statute. They are an recognizable representation of the western United States, tracing back to their days as pack animals for people migrating to California during the Gold Rush.
Burros have become an “informal symbol” of the region, where many of them have wandered at will for at least three-quarters of a century. They even contribute to fire prevention by consuming dry grass in remote and high-risk gorges.
“They truly offer a advantage to the community. Emergency responders value them because, they explain: ‘Wow, these creatures can go areas we cannot access,’” a representative added.
Local Relations
The animals are calm but at times they can be a nuisance if they consume residents’ flowers or cause delays when drivers stop to feed them from their cars.
Last year, a adjacent county, where wild burros are believed to total in the several thousand, worked alongside a charitable group to responsibly catch the animals and move them to refuges.
“Although the wild burros charm many residents and visitors, they also often come across cars and trucks and rail transports, leading to harm for animals and people,” officials announced.
“The burros also seriously injure themselves resulting in infection and death when they become entangled in fencing or when their appendages get caught in cemetery flower vases.”
Repeated Violence
The arrows used in the incidents were hunting-style tips, a type typically utilized for game pursuit. According to non-profit accounts, the first attack occurred the start of the summer, when a juvenile donkey was found eating with an arrow in her side close to where Cupid was found.
Soon thereafter, a another burro was found hit with a similar style of arrow in the same area. Afterwards, at least more donkeys were shot in the area, including a couple estimated to be two to four months old.
Healthy donkeys typically live 40 years or more and range in dimensions from small “small breeds” that may weigh a substantial amount to large “giants”.
In the past, two men admitted to federal charges for using powerful guns to slay three wild burros in a desert region.
