“But now he’s scared.”
Years went by with no signs of life in Diesel, but earlier this year a hunter spotted and photographed a herd of at least 12 elk in the Northern California wilderness.
Strangely enough, there were also wild donkeys among them.
Drewry is convinced the donkey seen in Hunter’s video is her Diesel.
“Finally, I know he’s OK. He’s living his best life. He’s happy, he’s healthy and it’s such a relief.”
The Drewrys adopted Diesel from the Bureau of Land Management, and he lived peacefully for the first few years of his life on a ranch with chickens, llamas, and a miniature donkey.
But during that fateful hike in April 2019, Diesel noticed something that startled him, took off running, and dragged Drewry’s husband, Dave, into the brush, she told KOVR at the time.
For weeks, they searched for Diesel in the Cache Creek Wilderness, a rugged area of about 30,000 acres northwest of Sacramento.
They thought they had found him on a trail camera and once even found footprints that might have matched his hoofprints, but they were never able to find him.
It features Max Fennell, a professional triathlete who occasionally hunts with a bow and arrow in the California wilderness.
On a hunting trip in March, Fennell stumbled upon a herd of elk and was surprised to see a donkey among them.
In the video, taken by Fennell just a few kilometres from where Diesel escaped in 2019, the herd can be seen moving in unison.
When Fennell spots them, they stop and stare at him.
The animals didn’t move again until the donkey told them it was safe. The donkey stared at Fennel in disbelief, then turned his head and trotted off.
“I was so touched to see these donkeys. It’s amazing how happy and healthy they look!”
Donkeys not only help clear land, pull carts, and provide cuteness, but they can also guard livestock on farms.
Herd animals will fiercely defend their flock by howling, kicking violently and charging at potential predators with their teeth bared.
Drewry suspects that if the donkey Fennell witnessed is indeed Diesel, he is simply doing his duty as a donkey and protecting his deer friends.
“They learned to get along and become each other’s family,” she told KOVR.
The donkey in the footage looked very content, sprinting through tall yellow grass in dappled sunlight.
Drewry said he misses Diesel but has no plans to catch him and bring him back.
Wild donkeys are herbivores, so they usually have plenty of food to find.
And the donkeys in Fennell’s video appear to be thriving in the wilderness alongside their friends.
“He’s a real wild donkey now,” she said.
