Email
Print
FeedWild Donkeys for Adoption
The Burden of Beasts: A surging wild donkey population on the Big Island has triggered relocation of the animals.
|
Do
you have a large tract of well-fenced, semiarid, rural land with room
for a couple of untamed beasts of burden—or, better yet, a couple of
dozen? If so, the Waikoloa Nightingale adoption people want to talk to
you.
The Waikoloa Nightingales are wild donkeys roaming the
scrubland of the Big Island’s South Kohala district. Their population
has swollen to nuisance levels. An extreme drought that’s affected the
area doesn’t seem to have reduced their numbers, but it has made the
well-watered Waikoloa Village subdivision an irresistible oasis.
Nightingales have been breaking fences, drinking from swimming pools,
devouring lawns and gardens, causing traffic accidents, fighting
neighborhood dogs, pooping everywhere and hee-hawing loudly at night
(hence their unlikely nickname). And they treat residents with an
attitude, stomping their hooves and baring their teeth at people who try
to shoo them away.
With no public or private entity responsible
for controlling these feral bad asses, some members of the local
equestrian community have taken it upon themselves to capture, sterilize
and find good homes for the animals. “We want to do right by the
donkeys,” says Brady Bergin, a large-animal veterinarian from Waimea,
and a key figure in the donkey adoption effort. “If we don’t deal
humanely with the problem now, in five or 10 years eradication may be
the only option left.”
Why adopt a wild donkey? They make great
lawn mowers. They provide excellent protection for sheep, goats and pigs
from marauding dogs (they hate dogs). And they can be downright
endearing. “They’re neat creatures,” says Bird McIver, of CB Horse
Rescue in Keaau. “They’re very curious and very smart, and once you get
them to trust you, you can build upon that trust. You don’t want to
coerce them, though. You want them to think it’s their idea.”
Since
Bergin and McIver began their Nightingale adoption campaign last fall,
they’ve “rehomed” about 200 animals, reducing the wild herd by about a
third. Qualified candidates for donkey adoption may live on any island.
They’ll need to provide securely fenced pasture, water and a long-term
commitment (donkeys can live for 30 years or so). Also, candidates must
agree that the Nightingales are not for human consumption. “A lot of
people here locally don’t oppose eating donkey meat,” says Bergin. “But
that’s not our policy. We’re not in this to send them down the road to
the smokehouse.”
Contacts for the donkey adoption program can be found at ainahouanimalhospital.com/donkey.html.
Do you like what you read? Subscribe to HONOLULU Magazine »
HONOLULU Magazine invites you to comment on our articles and the issues they raise. Comments are moderated for offensive language, commercial messages and off-topic posts. Some comments may be chosen for inclusion in the magazine on the Feedback page, if name and city are included. Comments are moderated as time allows.