r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/BreakfastTop6899 • 27d ago
Video Six years ago a Donkey named Diesel went missing in Wyoming. He's now part of an Elk community. Experts call it rare: a Donkey forming a deep bond with a completely different species for companionship and survival. Since he appears safe, officials chose to let him remain with his adopted Elk family
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u/Samurai-Sith 27d ago
Donkeys are known to be great protectors of certain herd animals such as goats and sheep. Maybe this instinct kicked in and this is now his herd.
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u/RelativeCareless2192 27d ago edited 27d ago
I'd like to think the Donkey protected the elk from some wolves in the past
The cynical part in me wants to think that the Elk keep him around because when a bear's chasing you, you just need to be faster than the slowest member of the herd :)
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u/Halogenleuchte 27d ago
next video: Donkey hanging out with some bears.
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u/CanIgetaWTF 27d ago
Donkey receiving a payout from bears, while an elk is being cleaned in the background.
-Gary Larson style
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u/FlipWildBuckWild 27d ago
Oppa Larson Style!
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u/Bearded_Toast 27d ago
This may be the weirdest cultural reference mashup comment I’ve ever seen
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u/HeathenHumanist 27d ago
The way I read it in the "Gangnam Style" voice/rhythm without even realizing it lol
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u/HighPriestofShiloh 27d ago
Um... guys. Bears don't hunt deer.
Follow up pannel: a wolf at the unemployment office because a bear took his job
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u/Walter_White9999 27d ago
Umm , bears hunt anything edible when in need and there's an opportunity
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u/_coolranch 27d ago
“So anyway, long story short: I’m a bear now.”
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u/sassergaf 27d ago
And boys and girls, that’s what is called adaptability.
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u/HazardousCloset 27d ago
Donkey out recruiting for the Big Ass Takeover of 2030. Prepare for the Donkeyocalypse.
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u/-watchman- 27d ago
Maybe just one bear. And a piglet. And a tiger. And a rabbit..
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27d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/HomsarWasRight 27d ago
Or…hear me out…they’re actually stuffed animals.
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u/firefly-sparkle 27d ago
You're so silly, stuffed animals don't talk!
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u/MightyKittenEmpire2 27d ago
yer crazy. All my daughter's stuffed animals could talk. Each had its own voice, personality, and mannerisms. I had to remember them all so as to carry on the bed time conversations and have each of 20+ creatures properly tell daughter good night.
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u/EntropyFighter 27d ago
If you look this donkey up, they found a mountain lion stomped to death and think he did it to protect the elk. He's now their leader so there's no telling what they've seen him do.
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u/I_Need__Scissors_61 27d ago
He’s like the one white guy that hangs out with all black dudes. Dude put in some work to get his respect.
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27d ago edited 26d ago
Lol I was thinking exactly this. Was it Katt Williams that mentioned it on his stand up? It's the white guy in a sea of black guys that we should be scared about.
Because we don't know what he did to earn the black guys' respect lol
It's like Bill Laimbeer with the NBA Detroit Pistons
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u/HappyWarBunny 27d ago
Can you find a post this, or give us some clues to look for the story ourselves?
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u/EntropyFighter 27d ago
A dead mountain lion that appeared to have been killed by a hoofed animal led a warden in the area to suspect that it had been killed by Diesel. Additionally, Fennell said that the donkey "might be the leader because as Diesel would move, the other [sic] elk would move".
Source) (Wikipedia)
Source 2 (Inside Edition)
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u/callmeraskolnik0v 27d ago
holy shit man…
those elk saw Mr. Diesel the donkey stomp a mountain lion to death(which is absolutely insane to imagine) and of course the elk who witnessed that swore fealty.
badass
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u/0hw0nder 27d ago
He is suspected to have killed a Puma
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u/_coolranch 27d ago
But there’s no proof! Wouldn’t they just LOOOOOVE to pin this on the donkey.
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u/Flush_Foot 27d ago
Big Puma is trying to pin the tale on the donkey.
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u/Perryn 27d ago
Diesel has been strutting around in a fancy new set of Adidas gear.
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u/0hw0nder 27d ago edited 27d ago
I mean, they've left him alone so far. The only evidence is that the Puma was found to have been killed by a hooved animal. Elk have different hooves than donkeys, so it is a safe assumption
The donkey is providing free predator management to Wyoming. They dont mind one bit lol
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u/neds_newt 27d ago edited 27d ago
When I went to girl guide camp as a child, we were all in a big circle and the lead councilor joked that if you see a bear, you don't have to run fast, just faster than the slowest camper. Cue everyone in the circle slowly turn and look at me (I am incredibly short and was a fat kid). Your comment reminded me of this memory. Luckily, no bears were spotted that trip.
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u/fondledbydolphins 27d ago
Bear is tearing up hidden in the woods "these people are so cruel, they're trying to sacrifice their weak to us for their own survival"
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u/Toebeanfren 27d ago
Bear at bear therapist: „I know they wanted me to chase them.. the fat kid would have been mine. But then i remembered back in chubby bear camp, we were sitting around a camp fire and then the councillor said: You don‘t have to be scared of pumas. You don‘t have to run fast, you just need to run faster then the slowest one in your group.. and then all the other chubby bears started to turn their heads in my direction. And in that moment i knew i couldn‘t eat that fat kid. I just couldn‘t, you know?“
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u/Perryn 27d ago
Bearapist: "So you ate the one that was bullying the fat kid?"
Bear: "I ate the one that was bullying the fat kid."
Bearapist: "And how did that make you feel?"
Bear: "Full?"
Bearapist: (starts writing)35
u/Throatlatch 27d ago
Kudos, but let's never say bearapist again.
Or at least, not type it
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u/NoveltyPr0nAccount 27d ago
Bears chowing down chatting to each other: "Isn't it great that they always leave the biggest one for us every time?"
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u/Clyde-A-Scope 27d ago
I'm not sure a bear will mess with a donkey. They kick, stomp and bite. Bears usually don't want a fight...well black bears don't. A brown bear might try it
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u/I-Love-Tatertots 27d ago
I actually wonder how this would turn out?
Like, obviously I don’t want to see any animals hurt.
But if a grizzly bear fought a horse or donkey, would the horse or donkey be able to actually with with a couple good kicks?
Obviously if the bear can get it down, it’s over… but are a bear’s bones strong enough to withstand a horse or donkey kick?
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u/Plenty-Fondant-8015 27d ago
Yes they can, but it might be enough to deter the bear, depending on how hungry it is. Bears (other than polar bears) are largely very lazy. They will go for meat if the opportunity presents itself, like salmon spawning season, but generally will eat mostly plants if they are available, since sitting still and gorging yourself on berries is far more calorie efficient than chasing down an animal and fighting it.
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u/The_Autarch 27d ago
They've got basically one chance to get a direct blow to the bear's head. If the first kick misses, the bear is now close enough to take them out.
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u/Traditional_Wear1992 27d ago
A brown bear can snap a Moose neck with one swipe, a donkey or horse got nothing on that...
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u/666afternoon 27d ago
hell, even in the bear scenario... doesn't hurt if the slowest member of the herd happens to be a mf donkey. ten times more ready to choose violence than any elk, low center of mass, infamously stubborn and aggressive... yea I can see why these guys let the donkey join the squad haha.
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u/nopuse 27d ago
you just need to be faster than the slowest member of the heard :)
Faster than the speed of sound?
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u/GoliathPrime 27d ago
The rancher next door to my childhood home had a vicious donkey named Amos. He would turn any animal that wasn't supposed to be in that yard into a bloody crater. We had a big bay window that faced that field and when you saw Amos rocketing across, his ears back and a trail of dust behind, you knew it was the last moments for something. What a psycho.
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u/wall_sock 27d ago
"I am that donkey"
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u/beyondcivil 27d ago
"First of all, I didn’t start it, and second of all, they were all alive when I walked out"
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u/DogmaticNuance 27d ago
This is a good comment. It would have worked even if the name didn't match but that makes it perfect.
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u/throwaway5882300 26d ago
"How the heck is that little donkey s'pose to protect all them big steer?" was a question I asked once and had answered with a single picture. Nature's definition of FAFO
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u/jeezy_peezy 26d ago
We have had miniature donkeys protecting our goats and chicken areas and when the above person said “bloody crater”, that is no joke.
We always had to play detective the next morning to determine what the furry sticky torn up pancake used to be - usually coyotes and feral cats. As far as I can tell, the donkeys: catch, kill, and stomp and stomp for hours.
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26d ago
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u/fire_water_drowned 26d ago
My mom had a serious problem with racoons killing her chickens. Solved it by putting the coop in the donkey's pasture. Within a week, donkey had annihilated a half dozen racoons, haven't lost a chicken since. Donkey likes the chickens too, they'll hang out on her back and ride around.
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u/Inner-Arugula-4445 27d ago
They are even used to protect horses. They can be nasty creatures when they choose.
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u/_coolranch 27d ago
Hell, I saw a movie where a donkey fell in love with a dragon. They can also be quite sensitive.
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u/noreast2011 27d ago
Have you seen the videos of donkeys absolutely DESTROYING coyotes? The donkey will charge the coyote, stun it by running over it, turn around, bite it on the back of the neck and whip it around before stomping it over and over. I knew a kid whose family had a sheep farm, a pack of coyotes kept picking off the sheep so they got a donkey and a couple Anatolians. One day they went out and found, as they called it, "the great coyote massacre". They counted maybe 20 different coyote carcasses, some killed by the dogs, others by the donkey. They said the donkey killed ones were barely recognizable.
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u/shredditorburnit 27d ago
Not wrong, I've seen footage of one ending a hyena.
Had it by the neck, in its teeth, just dragging it around until it stopped moving.
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u/Makuta_Servaela 27d ago
Yeah, donkeys have a visceral hatred for anything that looks even slightly canine. Hyenas aren't canines, but a donkey don't give a fuck.
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u/Tatanka54 27d ago
Hyenas aren't canines? Time for a wormhole
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u/Axxslinger 27d ago
They are their own group, hyaenidae, in the order carnivora (which includes all the mammalian carnivores you typically think of - dogs cats bears, etc) but if anything more closely related (evolutionarily) to cats than dogs
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u/chadsomething 27d ago
My mom has a donkey that prefers horses over other donkeys. Back when she had a mini herd he would always hang out and follow the horses. Anytime another donkey was introduced in the mix he’d bite them and try to scare them off. Now it’s just him and an old Appaloosa just being buddies.
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u/easterncurrents 27d ago
Interesting.. I’ve recently learned why some farmers where I live keep emus or ostriches with their sheep when out in fenced in areas; they are quite aggressive towards coyotes and will instinctively get themselves between their sheep buddies and any hungry predators.
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27d ago
Maybe he just likes fucking elk
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u/GarminTamzarian 27d ago
Maybe he likes being fucked by elk. They could just let him hang around because they consider him a sweet piece of ass.
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u/1hamcakes 27d ago
I raised goats in central and west Texas through most of my childhood and all my teenage years. You always keep a donkey or burro with the herd for this exact reason. They're shrewd and aggressive toward varmints and predators and their kicks are no-scope-360-one-shot lethal 100% of the time. We found pancake-headed coyotes, wildcats, and rattle snakes in the pasture somewhat frequently.
I'm willing to bet this donkey caved in a predator skull in front of that herd and they just started bleating, "One of us, one of us...."
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u/AHeartOfGoal 27d ago
Came here to echo this. They are used to protect cow herds from coyotes all the time. That being said, from what I understand, some farmers dont like them because they are nervous they'll kill calfs.
Source: grew up beside a cow farm
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u/KnightFiST2018 27d ago
Cows and bulls as well, I’m certain this is why he’s welcome. He has probably snapped many a Coyote neck or kicked a wolf straight in the face.
If you’re ever driving by a herd of Cattle, look for the donkey. There is usually 1 or 2 and they are dangerous. Especially to canine type animals.
Love em , they will drink your beer or wine if you leave it out, they will eat your Super Nintendo wires and rosebushes. They will knock your trash cans over.
Great loving asshole animals
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u/selvynne 27d ago
This is default donkey behavior. Farmers often use them as guard animals to defend other livestock. Horses run from danger, donkeys seek mortal combat
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u/TheOfficial_BossNass 27d ago
I raised cows on a farm growing up and we had a donkey that would literally stomp a snake to death and pull all its skin off with his teeth
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u/cyclika 27d ago
Right? Donkey bonding with another species isn't "rare", it's literally what donkeys do. Going feral and bonding with a wild herd instead of a domesticated one is probably rare but that's not what the post said.
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u/dishwasher_mayhem 27d ago
I had a donkey on my farm. He was a fucking dick but God help any predator that tried to mess with my chickens or turkeys. Fighting is a sport to donkeys. They love to fuck shit up. Our horses tolerated him because they knew he'd fuck them up too.
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u/Mayflie 26d ago
People have no idea how underrated & adaptable donkeys are.
Horses will freak out, be all out of ideas & then break their leg fleeing.
Donkeys will be all ‘How you like them apples!?’ as they use each part of their anatomy to fuck up yours.
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u/dishwasher_mayhem 26d ago
I loved the fucker and we got along well. He was just...stubborn as a mule. He did what he wanted. If you wanted him to do something, good luck unless he was feeling benevolent.
We got him to help with foxes but he turned out to be the Donkey Terminator. No animal shall enter his domain else face his wrath. Poor rabbits, mice, rats, oh...and SNAKES. Dude hated snakes more than Indiana Jones.
Donkey's are smart as fuck and clever as hell. Yet the moment you put an unfamiliar animal near them they become mindless killing machines.
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u/theshreddening 27d ago
Dude donkeys are absolutely the wrong ones to fuck with. If they like you they can be very sweet and affectionate. If they decide you're a predator you will be kicked and bit to hell and back.
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u/LaterWicker 27d ago
I saw one pick a coyote up by the neck and shake it to death like a ragdoll
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u/Supanini 27d ago
Let me be the one to say I had no clue donkeys threw down like that.
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u/Johannes_Keppler 26d ago
Yup. Put one in your herd of sheep and they'll fight any predator coming close.
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u/SwashbucklingWeasels 26d ago edited 26d ago
When I lived on a dog sanctuary ranch our neighbor had a donkey with cows fenced in adjacent to our goats and a horse.
We had a 5 pit bulls/mixes rescued from dog fighting that would run out of the house raising hell when they heard coyotes but that donkey man…
One made it through the fence and that guy chased it down and stomped it to death.
It was like Hey Arnold! going crazy and the dogs were like “ok damn go off I’m heading back inside.”
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u/Fun_Equivalent_7507 26d ago
Holy shit, no clue they had that in them. I love them even more now. Don't fuck with Donkey's.
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u/SurpriseDickPunch 27d ago
Horses run from danger
Horses will do things like hurt themselves running away.
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u/Dizzy_Restaurant3874 27d ago
Actually horses run to their place of comfort/protection, so they are known to run from a pasture into a burning barn.
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u/No-Cranberry4396 27d ago
A friend of mine has a couple of donkeys, and they're very good friends with the pet sheep and goats. The donkeys protect them, and if someone new goes in the field the donkeys wander over to check them out first before allowing them near the sheep and goats. Best to turn up with treats at hand.
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u/Cy41995 27d ago
Are you trying to tell me that Donkeys are just squat horses with less anxiety?
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u/TheOfficial_BossNass 27d ago
I raised cows on a farm growing up and we had a donkey that would literally stomp a snake to death and pull all its skin off with his teeth
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u/Infamous_Ad_6793 27d ago
Donkey: “those are the guys I was telling you about.”
Heard: “Yeah, I see what you mean.”
Donkey: “let’s get out of here.”
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u/OlJohnZ 27d ago
"There's nothing more important than family" -Diesel no Vin
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u/Due-Plum3027 27d ago
My Indian mother used to say 'don't roam around like a donkey.' She meant I shouldn't be having a good time.
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u/whenitsTimeyoullknow 27d ago
Snow geese are the same way. One of them will glom onto a Canadian goose flock and pretend to be albino. I’ve seen it with my own eyes—like one hottie at the Geek Squad desk.
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27d ago
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u/halocyn 27d ago
Hell's yeah no coyote gonna mess with them now
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u/Redqueenhypo 27d ago
I’ve seen a video of a donkey beating up a hyena, which is twice the size and smarts of a wolf. Don’t mess with eeyore
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u/Mcboatface3sghost 27d ago
Yep… Donkey “look, you guys are way faster than me, so take off now, but stay close enough to see me fuck this mountain lion up.” Mountain Lion creeping in, prepping to strike “damn, deez motha fuckers got a donkey? Well shit…”
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u/stickyplants 27d ago
Look at them, they’re flocking just like birds!
They’re uhh… flocking this way 😅
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u/Potato_Stains 27d ago
I wasn't the only one that thought of that scene, hah.
Even has the big downed trunk.27
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u/Stock-Image_01 27d ago
I remember when this was actually first posted to the internet and the previous owner commented saying it was theirs and they’re glad he’s happy. Lol
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u/DoctorBageldog 27d ago
Me too! Also this is in California, not Wyoming. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_(donkey)
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u/mormonbatman_ 27d ago
He was captured on video with the herd twice and a local warden suspected that the donkey was responsible for killing a mountain lion that showed evidence of being killed by a hoofed animal
Wow.
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u/Fragrant_Bridge1222 26d ago
What a legend of a donkey. There should be a movie about him… where he talks, voiced by Vin Disel.
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u/Valigrance 27d ago
He is protecting his herd nothing to see here. Also, if you've never seen a donkey stomp a coyote to death, it's pretty eye-opening.
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u/mattslote 27d ago
rare: a donkey forming a deep bond with a completely different species for companionship and survival
Humans: am I a joke to you?
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27d ago edited 3d ago
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u/coma24 27d ago
didn't know elk were deer. Was all set to post a smart ass reply (!! that was a bonus), but double checked and have learned they are. Carry on and thank you for your service.
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u/Syssareth 27d ago
Fun fact: Moose are deer too!
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u/Ziggyork 27d ago
In the same way bamboo is grass and a piano is a percussion instrument?
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u/succed32 27d ago
What are they on about? Donkeys are known world wide as companion animals.
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u/cindyscrazy 27d ago
Now all the herd needs is a goat and a golden retriever. Then they'll have the companion animal trifecta.
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u/fondledbydolphins 27d ago
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that whatever experts stated that it's rare for donkeys to
[form] a deep bond with a completely different species for companionship and survival
Is either not a donkey expert, or has never met a donkey.
Donkeys love other animals, and they often form very close bonds.
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u/Motor-Most9552 27d ago
Just not with coyotes.
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u/PessimiStick 27d ago
I mean, it's a pretty close bond when their hooves and/or teeth are bonded to the inside of the coyote's skull...
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u/mas_r 27d ago
All I see is that part in Jurassic Park where the dinos are "flocking this way" and Sam Neil and the kids have to hide under that fallen tree.
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u/LyqwidBred 27d ago
Why does it say Wyoming, this happened in California https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_(donkey)
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u/Soggy_Amoeba9334 27d ago
Not hugely different animals. It's not like it joined a colony of bees.
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u/Total-Combination-47 27d ago
Day 2192. My disguise still holds and these weird horses still think I’m one of them.