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A wild burro dubbed Cupid is healing after surgery after being hit with an arrow in what experts call the most recent in a series of six attacks since June on asses that wander semirural areas of inland southern California.

Animal Aid Underway

The two-year-old female donkey was observed last midweek with a colored projectile embedded in her upper body as she wandered with a group in the foothills of a local community.

Wildlife rescuers and the regional police responded and helped bring the hurt animal in for an critical surgery to extract the projectile. The arrow had punctured the burro’s chest cavity.

“Right now she’s stable and is upright, which is a significant step forward,” a sanctuary official remarked.

When Cupid is fully recovered, she will become part of a group of rehabilitated burros who wander a expansive preserve and conservation area.

Reward Offered for Leads

The non-profit is posting a $24,000 reward, raised from donations, for information leading to the apprehension and sentencing of anyone implicated in no fewer than six projectile incidents on burros over the past several months.

The government office of animal services announced that the investigation is still active, and asked for the public’s help in identifying a perpetrator or perpetrators.

Legally Guarded Animals

Free-roaming asses are protected under federal law. They are an recognizable representation of the US south-west, tracing back to their former use as pack animals for people migrating to California during the Gold Rush.

Burros have become an “community icon” of the region, where many of them have rambled freely for at least seven decades. They even aid in fire prevention by eating dry grass in hard-to-reach and high-risk gorges.

“They truly offer a benefit to the community. Emergency responders appreciate them because, they note: ‘Hey, these guys can go areas we are unable to reach,’” a representative added.

Human-Animal Dynamics

The animals are docile but occasionally they can be a problem if they chomp on local gardens or block roads when drivers stop to offer them food from their cars.

In the past, a nearby county, where wild burros are estimated to number in the thousands, worked alongside a rescue organization to responsibly catch the animals and relocate them to protected areas.

“While the wild burros delight numerous residents and visitors, they also often come across cars and trucks and freight trains, leading to harm for both species,” the county said in a statement.

“The burros also badly hurt themselves resulting in infection and fatality when they become trapped in enclosures or when their feet get trapped in cemetery flower vases.”

Ongoing Threats

The shots used in the assaults were sharp-pointed arrows, a type traditionally used for wildlife harvesting. According to rescue records, the first attack occurred the weekend of 14 June, when a small ass was found eating with an arrow in her side near where Cupid was spotted.

A few days later, a second burro was found struck with a comparable type of arrow in the same area. Afterwards, at least more donkeys were shot in the area, including a duo estimated to be two to four months old.

Healthy donkeys normally live 40 years or more and differ in stature from waist-high “miniatures” that may weigh a substantial amount to large “large breeds”.

In the past, two men confessed to federal charges for using powerful guns to kill three wild burros in an arid zone.