When Animals Attack: The Story of Blacky the Donkey

Tuxtla Guiterrez, Mexico, was the site of a violent attack that left two men wounded and half a dozen others wrestling the perpetrator into submission. After the dust settled, the attacker was carted off to prison. He served his time in silence, never once asking to make a phone call or complaining about the food.

That's because the attacker was a burro named Blacky.

Blacky didn't start life as a vicious malcontent. He was a fairly docile creature until that fateful Sunday in May of 2008. Then something snapped.

Blacky hauled off and bit bystander Genaro Vazquez, 63, square in the chest. When 52-year-old Andres Hernandez tried to step in to aid Vazquez, Blacky lashed out with his hooves and left the would-be rescuer with a broken ankle. Then he went on to threaten other witnesses with so much ferocity that he was thought to be "rabid".

It wasn't long before a mob gathered to subdue Blacky. The little burro fought hard, but six men finally managed to overpower him. He was dragged off to prison without even the courtesy of a fair trial. Happily, Blacky's prison stint was a short one. He was released after his owner, Mauro Gutierrez, agreed to pay the victims' medical bills, lost wages, and a fine. All told, Blacky's shenanigans cost his owner about $1,100.

Officer Sinar Gomez commented on the bizarre case, insisting that anyone who commits a crime in Chiapas state faces jail time - "No matter who they are."

Blacky's story provokes deep questions. What would drive a peaceful herbivore to sink his teeth into someone's flesh? Was Blacky simply tired of being a beast of burden? Did someone call him an ass? Sadly, we may never find the answers we seek. Blacky certainly isn't talking. He seems to have recovered from his ordeal with minimal trauma, though.Television cameras caught him munching happily and swinging his tail on the day of his release.

Though the mysteries of Blacky are boundless, there's a lesson to be learned from his unfortunate incarceration. Animals, take special note: if you're going to get rowdy, don't do it in Chiapas state. Their police don't play. A bull was once imprisoned there after he ate a path through a field of corn and demolished some vending stalls. In 2006, Chiapas police locked up a dog for biting. Like Blacky, the dog was bailed out by its owner. (They got off light with an $18 fine.) We have no word on the fate of the bull.