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A wild burro called Cupid is healing after surgery after being struck with an arrow in what authorities describe as the most recent in a sequence of six attacks starting last month on burros that traverse partly rural areas of the state's southeastern region.

Emergency Response Ongoing

The juvenile jenny was observed last Wednesday with a blue arrow protruding from her upper body as she wandered with a group in the rolling hills of Moreno Valley.

Wildlife rescuers and the regional police reacted and helped bring the hurt animal in for an urgent operation to take out the arrow. The object had punctured the burro’s respiratory organ.

“Her condition is now steady and is standing, which is a huge step forward,” a sanctuary official remarked.

When Cupid is back to health, she will be introduced to a group of rescued burros who wander a large sanctuary and conservation area.

Reward Offered for Leads

The rescue group is providing a $24,000 reward, raised from donations, for information that helps achieve the arrest and conviction of anyone connected in a half-dozen bow attacks on burros over the recent period.

The government office of animal services announced that the inquiry is ongoing, and requested the people's support in locating a suspect or suspects.

Protected Species

Feral donkeys are shielded under national legislation. They are an emblematic figure of the western United States, dating to their historical role as beasts of burden for people heading toward California during the Gold Rush.

Burros have become an “community icon” of the region, where numerous of them have roamed without restriction for at least 75 years. They even contribute to fire prevention by eating flammable vegetation in hard-to-reach and ready-to-burn canyons.

“Indeed, they supply a advantage to the community. Fire crews appreciate them because, they explain: ‘Man, these guys can go areas we cannot access,’” a representative mentioned.

Local Relations

The animals are docile but sometimes they can be a nuisance if they consume landscaped plants or block roads when commuters stop to feed them from their cars.

Last year, a nearby county, where wild burros are believed to total in the several thousand, contracted with a rescue organization to safely collect the animals and transfer them to protected areas.

“Although the wild burros charm numerous residents and visitors, they also commonly come across road traffic and freight trains, causing tragedy for animals and people,” the county reported.

“The burros also seriously injure themselves resulting in complications and death when they become snared in fencing or when their feet get trapped in grave markers.”

Ongoing Threats

The shots used in the incidents were sharp-pointed arrows, a style traditionally used for hunting. According to non-profit accounts, the initial incident happened the weekend of 14 June, when a small ass was found grazing with an arrow in her side not far from where Cupid was spotted.

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

Fit donkeys usually live 40 years or more and differ in stature from small “miniatures” that may weigh a substantial amount to bulky “large breeds”.

In the past, two men admitted to national offenses for using high-powered rifles to kill three wild burros in a desert region.