'Oh my gosh there's a donkey with the elk:' Missing mule shows up as the alpha-male in a pack of stags in California

A donkey named Diesel has been spotted living as the alpha-male in a pack of stags in California, after he ran away from his owners five years ago. 

Terri Drewry was out on a hike when her favourite donkey ran off after getting scared by a mountain lion.

Diesel was spotted on a trail camera some months later but he was nowhere to be found. Despite a months-long search for her beloved pet, Terri and her husband Dave gave up. 

But this year, while out on a hunting trip in Auburn, California, athlete Max Fennell spotted something out of the ordinary: a donkey living amongst a herd of elk. 

Amazed, Fennell captured a video of Diesel standing in the middle of the herd, with the donkey and elk all looking towards Fennell. 

The animals can then be seen turning around and running off together. 

'Probably one of my wildest hunting trips to date. I bumped into a herd of elk that have adopted a donkey. I can't get over seeing it and I'm amazed that the donkey looks happy and healthy!', Fennell said on Instagram, where he shared the clip. 

Speaking to Inside Edition about the donkey sighting, Fennell said: 'It seemed as though that the donkey kind of might be the leader because as Diesel would move, the other elk would move'. 

'Apparently a warden in that area had found a dead mountain lion that they had suspected was killed by a hooved animal. They suspected that maybe Diesel had killed that mountain lion', he added. 

When she found out that Diesel was alive and well, was ecstatic. 

'It was amazing, it was like there he is, now we know he's alive and well living his best life,' Terrie told Inside Edition.

But Terri said she has made peace with the fact she will not be reunited with her donkey Diesel.  

'In a perfect world, absolutely, we would love to have him home but the fact of the matter is he's running wild and free out with there with that elk herd and he's earned his freedom at this point.'