In Death Valley National Park, researchers have captured the first photographic evidence of donkeys falling prey to the claws of a native predator: the cougar.
For humans and wildlife alike, feral donkeys can be a pain in the ass. Large and full of attitude, the scruffy vegetation-destroying equids steal resources from native sheep and tortoises, poop in precious spring water, and cost many a park manager a good night’s sleep.
Donkeys, often called burros in the Americas, first arrived with Spanish colonizers in the 1500s. They became invaluable as pack animals and mine workers for Western pioneers in the 1800s. At the end of the mining boom, however, most burros escaped or were turned loose. Some ecologists and park staff in Death Valley have found evidence suggesting otherwise: sightings of cougars eating donkey carcasses, or carcasses stashed near cougar trails or scat. However, Lundgren says that without concrete proof, many other scientists have dismissed the idea.
Lundgren realized he was seeing a cougar and a burro caught midstruggle as the cougar wrestled the donkey to the ground. With one eye closed, the bloody cat seemed to be staring straight into the camera as its powerful front paws coiled around the burro’s forehead. The following year, Lundgren caught another cougar killing a burro on camera, this time at night.
The vegetation in sites less frequented by donkeys had more plants growing and fewer signs of trampling. By making donkeys more wary of wetland sites,To Lundgren, this relationship between cougars, donkeys, and vegetation suggests the burros are not a blight on Death Valley’s landscape and shouldn’t be entirely removed. With cougars keeping donkeys from destroying wetlands, he says donkeys’ beneficial behaviors have a better chance to shine through.
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