Donkeys here and donkeys there; donkeys, donkeys everywhere!

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The Donkey sanctuary, Bonaire.

Donkeys have been living on Bonaire for hundreds of years, originally having been brought over by the Spaniards in the 17th century. They used to perform hard labour, but then modern transport made these animals superfluous, and they were left to themselves, and this “unwanted” freedom has been difficult for the donkeys. Bonaire is a dry and barren island, therefore many donkeys die of hunger or from dehydration although traffic presents the greatest danger, where the donkeys are either killed or left badly wounded and dying along the roadside. Foals that lose their mothers are left helpless, vulnerable and as good as dead. For a long time no organised help was available to these poor animals. The primary objective of Donkey Sanctuary Bonaire is to offer a sheltered, protected life to all the donkeys of Bonaire that need it. When a report arrives about a live wild donkey in distress, volunteers are sent to the rescue. Sick and wounded animals are nursed and, where necessary, a vet is called upon to give medical attention. Orphaned foals are raised with a baby bottle. All stallions that arrive at the sanctuary are castrated to avoid expansion of the numbers of donkeys in care. Once the animals are recovered, they are lucky enough to spend the rest of their lives lovingly cared for at Donkey Sanctuary Bonaire. The number now apparently approximately 700!

Our visit preparations startet together with Kim here at Oasis guesthouse with getting fresh palm leaves to feed the donkeys. We were expecting a couple of handful of leaves, so when Kim brought out 2 saws, we were quite puzzled:

The sanctuary is just on the way to the surf spot, and M&N have been dying to sit in the back of the Hilux, so this time their wish was granted, both on the way there(with me having panic attack, seeing all sorts of accidents happening along the way with all the maniacs on the roads here), and then through the whole sanctuary! The donkeys came running after us in flocks and we had to throw out the palm branches along the way – they only eat fresh branches and they eat every bit of it till its gone. I don’t particularly like horses, donkeys on the other hand are sizewise perfect and really gentle, soft and friendly – just to my (and the rest of the crews) liking.

In addition to the donkeys, they had taken in 4 flamingoes from captivity, to enjoy their retirement here, together with an iguana and several tortoises.

It was a lovely visit, the sanctuary is enormous, and the donkeys are well looked after. It is possible to adopt a donkey, an of course there were tears when Mille wasn’t allowed this. However, I don’t think we’re done with that argument yet, knowing Mille…