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A free-roaming donkey nicknamed Cupid is recovering from surgery after being hit with an arrow in what officials describe as the most recent in a sequence of half a dozen attacks since June on burros that traverse partly rural areas of the state's southeastern region.

Animal Aid In Progress

The young female was seen last Wednesday with a blue arrow embedded in her front limb as she wandered with a group in the foothills of the region.

Animal services and the county law enforcement answered the call and assisted in transporting the hurt animal in for an emergency procedure to take out the arrow. The arrow had pierced the burro’s respiratory organ.

“She is currently stable and is upright, which is a major step forward,” an animal advocate stated.

When Cupid is back to health, she will join a group of rehabilitated burros who wander a 2,000-acre refuge and protected habitat.

Bounty Posted for Leads

The animal welfare organization is providing a twenty-four thousand dollar reward, collected via donations, for information resulting in the apprehension and sentencing of anyone implicated in no fewer than six bow attacks on burros over the last few months.

The government office of animal services stated that the probe is ongoing, and appealed for the community’s assistance in identifying a responsible party.

Legally Guarded Animals

Wild burros are safeguarded under federal law. They are an emblematic figure of the US south-west, tracing back to their former use as beasts of burden for people flocking to California during the 19th-century rush.

Burros have become an “informal symbol” of the region, where numerous of them have wandered at will for at least three-quarters of a century. They even contribute to fire prevention by munching on tinder in hard-to-reach and high-risk valleys.

“Indeed, they supply a advantage to the community. The firefighters love them because, they explain: ‘Hey, these guys can go locations we cannot access,’” an advocate added.

Human-Animal Dynamics

The animals are gentle but sometimes they can be a problem if they chomp on residents’ flowers or cause delays when commuters stop to give them treats from their cars.

In the past, a nearby county, where wild burros are estimated to number in the thousands, worked alongside a non-profit to humanely capture the animals and relocate them to protected areas.

“Although the wild burros delight a lot of residents and visitors, they also commonly face vehicle traffic and rail transports, causing danger for burros and humans,” officials said in a statement.

“The burros also seriously injure themselves resulting in infection and death when they become entangled in enclosures or when their hooves get stuck in memorial ornaments.”

Repeated Violence

The arrows used in the attacks were sharp-pointed arrows, a type commonly employed for game pursuit. According to rescue records, the initial incident occurred the middle of June, when a juvenile donkey was found grazing with an arrow in her side not far from where Cupid was spotted.

Soon thereafter, a another burro was found shot with a like design of arrow in the identical region. From that point, at least more donkeys were targeted in the area, including a pair estimated to be two to four months old.

Fit donkeys normally live up to half a century and vary in size from waist-high “small breeds” that may weigh 135kg to large “mammoths”.

Previously, two men admitted to national offenses for using powerful guns to slay three wild burros in an arid zone.