Burro Healing After Latest Arrow Attack on Feral Donkeys in California

A wild burro nicknamed Cupid is healing after surgery after being hit with an arrow in what officials describe as the most recent in a string of six assaults beginning in June on asses that roam semirural areas of inland southern California.

Rescue Efforts In Progress

The young female donkey was observed last midweek with a colored projectile sticking out of her front limb as she roamed with a group in the lower slopes of Moreno Valley.

Wildlife rescuers and the county law enforcement reacted and helped bring the wounded animal in for an emergency procedure to extract the projectile. The arrow had penetrated the burro’s respiratory organ.

“She is currently stable and is on her feet, which is a significant positive sign,” a rescue representative stated.

When Cupid is completely healed, she will become part of a collection of rehabilitated burros who meander a expansive preserve and protected habitat.

Bounty Posted for Tips

The rescue group is offering a significant reward, raised from donations, for information that helps achieve the capture and prosecution of those connected in at least six bow attacks on burros over the recent period.

The government office of animal services announced that the probe is continuing, and appealed for the community’s assistance in finding a suspect or suspects.

Conservation Status

Feral donkeys are protected under U.S. statute. They are an recognizable representation of the American West, dating to their former use as transport creatures for people migrating to California during the 19th-century rush.

Burros have become an “unofficial mascot” of the region, where hundreds of them have wandered at will for at least 75 years. They even aid in fire prevention by consuming flammable vegetation in isolated and high-risk canyons.

“Indeed, they supply a benefit to the community. The firefighters appreciate them because, they explain: ‘Wow, these guys can go locations we cannot access,’” a representative stated.

Community Impact

The animals are calm but occasionally they can be a nuisance if they consume local gardens or obstruct traffic when motorists stop to give them treats from their cars.

In the past, a neighboring county, where wild burros are believed to total in the several thousand, contracted with a rescue organization to safely collect the animals and move them to refuges.

“Although the wild burros delight many residents and visitors, they also commonly come across cars and trucks and cargo trains, causing tragedy for both species,” the county reported.

“The burros also severely harm themselves resulting in infection and loss of life when they become trapped in enclosures or when their appendages get trapped in grave markers.”

Continued Danger

The shots used in the incidents were hunting-style tips, a style commonly employed for hunting. Per animal reports, the initial incident happened the start of the summer, when a juvenile donkey was found grazing with an arrow in her side near where Cupid was spotted.

Soon thereafter, a second burro was found hit with a similar style of arrow in the equivalent location. Since then, at least three other donkeys were attacked in the vicinity, including a couple estimated to be two to four months old.

Robust donkeys normally live 40 years or more and range in dimensions from small “miniatures” that may weigh 300lbs to bulky “mammoths”.

In the past, two men confessed to federal charges for using high-powered rifles to slay three wild burros in a desert region.