Lost Donkey Going Viral for Successfully Joining Elk Herd in WYO

Somewhere, I know there's a sophomoric joke about being the only "ass" in the family, but them still loving you, but I can't quite get the wording correct.

Regardless, this is one of the craziest stories I've ever heard of, at least in the wild, of a successful cross integration of species.

Diesel the Donkey

There is a donkey named Diesel that went missing during a trip with his owner. Over the past twenty-four hours (at the time this article was written), there have been several websites, social media pages and news outlets that have reported the animal being spotted in Wyoming with a herd of elk.

An X/Twitter account, Massimo, posted the video, along with a caption that read:

Four years ago a donkey named Diesel went missing in Wyoming. He's now part of an elk community

It is worth noting, the comment section has been letting poor Massimo have it for calling the group of elk a community. The people of Wyoming were quick to let him know that the correct terminology is either "herd" or "gang".

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Was that the original video?

The video was originally shared by Instagram account, maxfennell, back on Sunday, March 31st, 2024.

Diesel's apparent owner, drewry0414, claimed in the comments that it was in fact Diesel in the video.

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Max Fennell (@maxfennell)

Did this video really take place in Wyoming?

I was unable to ascertain if the video footage really took place in Wyoming. Several of the media outlets on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok claim that is the location, but a different video loaded to ViralHog back in November 2023, states that it was in Clearlake, California.

No matter where it takes place, it's still an awesome story. I learned (also from the comment section), that donkeys are fearsome fighters and that those elk are probably the safest herd in the country having that donkey among their number. A quick YouTube search proved them right. Donkeys are known for taking out predatory animals and they are often used for protecting livestock.

You learn something new everyday.

10 of Wyoming's Most Dangerous Animals

Wyoming is home to some pretty epic creatures. The pronghorn is the second fastest land animal in the world, second only to the cheetah -- and it's worth noting that while the cheetah can spring faster, the pronghorn can sustain it's top speed much farther. And while we do have plenty of cute and cuddly creatures (llike the nothern saw-whet owl) there are plenty of things that'll kill ya. Might want to think twice about moving here.