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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Donkey (disambiguation).

Look up donkey or bray in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Donkey

Conservation status
 Domesticated

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Perissodactyla

Family: Equidae

Genus: Equus

Species: E. africanus

Subspecies: E. a. asinus

Trinomial name

Equus africanus asinus

Linnaeus, 1758

The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives
from the African wild ass, Equus africanus, and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, Equus
africanus asinus, or as a separate species, Equus asinus.[1]: 1  It was domesticated in Africa some 5000–
7000 years ago,[1]: 2 [2]: 3715 [3] and has been used mainly as a working animal since that time.
There are more than 40 million donkeys in the world, mostly in underdeveloped countries, where they
are used principally as draught or pack animals. While working donkeys are often associated with those
living at or below subsistence, small numbers of donkeys or asses are kept for breeding or as pets in
developed countries.
An adult male donkey is a jack or jackass, an adult female is a jenny or jennet,[4][5][6] and an immature
donkey of either sex is a foal.[6] Jacks are often mated with female horses (mares) to produce mules; the
less common hybrid of a male horse (stallion) and jenny is a hinny.

Nomenclature
Traditionally, the scientific name for the donkey is Equus asinus asinus based on the principle of
priority used for scientific names of animals. However, the International Commission on Zoological
Nomenclature ruled in 2003 that if the domestic species and the wild species are considered subspecies
of one another, the scientific name of the wild species has priority, even when that subspecies was
described after the domestic subspecies.[7] This means that the proper scientific name for the donkey
is Equus africanus asinus when it is considered a subspecies and Equus asinus when it is considered a
species.[8][7]
At one time, the synonym ass was the more common term for the donkey. The first recorded use
of donkey was in either 1784[9] or 1785.[10][11][12]: 239  While the word ass has cognates in most
other Indo-European languages, donkey is an etymologically obscure word for which no credible cognate
has been identified. Hypotheses on its derivation include the following:

 perhaps from Spanish for its don-like gravity; the donkey was also known as "the King of
Spain's trumpeter".[11]
 perhaps a diminutive of dun (dull grayish-brown), a typical donkey colour.[10][13]
 perhaps from the name Duncan.[10][14]
 perhaps of imitative origin.[14]
From the 18th century, donkey gradually replaced ass and jenny replaced she-ass, which is now
considered archaic.[15] The change may have come about through a tendency to avoid pejorative terms
in speech and may be comparable to the substitution in North American English of rooster for cock, or
that of rabbit for coney, which was formerly homophonic with cunny (a variation of the word cunt). By
the end of the 17th century, changes in pronunciation of both ass and arse had caused them to become
homophones in some varieties of English.[12]: 239  Other words used for the ass in English from this time
include cuddy in Scotland, neddy in southwestern England and dicky in southeastern England;[12]: 
239  moke is documented in the 19th century and may be of Welsh or Romani origin.
Burro is a word for donkey in both Spanish and Portuguese. In the United States, it is commonly applied
to the feral donkeys that live west of the Rocky Mountains;[16] it may also refer to any small donkey.
[17]: 147 

History

Donkey in an Egyptian painting c. 1298–1235 BC

See also: Evolution of the horse
The genus Equus, which includes all extant equines, is believed to have evolved from Dinohippus, via the
intermediate form Plesippus. One of the oldest species is Equus simplicidens, described as zebra-like
with a donkey-shaped head. The oldest fossil to date is ~3.5 million years old from Idaho, USA. The genus
appears to have spread quickly into the Old World, with the similarly aged Equus
livenzovensis documented from western Europe and Russia.[18]
Molecular phylogenies indicate the most recent common ancestor of all modern equids (members of the
genus Equus) lived ~5.6 (3.9–7.8) mya. Direct paleogenomic sequencing of a 700,000-year-old middle
Pleistocene horse metapodial bone from Canada implies a more recent 4.07 Myr before present date for
the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) within the range of 4.0 to 4.5 Myr BP.[19] The oldest
divergencies are the Asian hemiones (subgenus E. (Asinus), including the kulan, onager, and kiang),
followed by the African zebras (subgenera E. (Dolichohippus), and E. (Hippotigris)). All other modern
forms including the domesticated horse (and many fossil Pliocene and Pleistocene forms) belong to the
subgenus E. (Equus) which diverged ~4.8 (3.2–6.5) million years ago.[20]
The ancestors of the modern donkey are the Nubian and Somalian subspecies of African wild ass.[21]
[22][23] Remains of domestic donkeys dating to the fourth millennium BC have been found in Ma'adi in
Lower Egypt, and it is believed that the domestication of the donkey was accomplished long after the
domestication of cattle, sheep and goats in the seventh and eighth millennia BC. Donkeys were probably
first domesticated by pastoral people in Nubia, and they supplanted the ox as the chief pack animal of
that culture. The domestication of donkeys served to increase the mobility of pastoral cultures, having
the advantage over ruminants of not needing time to chew their cud, and were vital in the development
of long-distance trade across Egypt. In the Dynasty IV era of Egypt, between 2675 and 2565 BC, wealthy
members of society were known to own over 1,000 donkeys, employed in agriculture, as dairy and meat
animals and as pack animals.[24] In 2003, the tomb of either King Narmer or King Hor-Aha (two of the
first Egyptian pharaohs) was excavated and the skeletons of ten donkeys were found buried in a manner
usually used with high ranking humans. These burials show the importance of donkeys to the early
Egyptian state and its ruler.[25]
By the end of the fourth millennium BC, the donkey had spread to Southwest Asia, and the main
breeding centre had shifted to Mesopotamia by 1800 BC. The breeding of large, white riding asses
made Damascus famous[citation needed], while Syrian breeders developed at least three other breeds,
including one preferred by women for its easy gait. The Muscat or Yemen ass was developed in Arabia.
By the second millennium BC, the donkey was brought to Europe, possibly at the same time
as viticulture was introduced, as the donkey is associated with the Syrian god of wine, Dionysus. Greeks
spread both of these to many of their colonies, including those in what are now Italy, France and Spain;
Romans dispersed them throughout their empire.[24]
The first donkeys came to the Americas on ships of the Second Voyage of Christopher Columbus, and
were landed at Hispaniola in 1495.[26] The first to reach North America may have been two animals
taken to Mexico by Juan de Zumárraga, the first bishop of Mexico, who arrived there on 6 December
1528, while the first donkeys to reach what is now the United States may have crossed the Rio
Grande with Juan de Oñate in April 1598.[27] From that time on they spread northward, finding use in
missions and mines. Donkeys were documented as present in what today is Arizona in 1679. By the Gold
Rush years of the 19th century, the burro was the beast of burden of choice of early prospectors in the
western United States. With the end of the placer mining boom, many of them escaped or were
abandoned, and a feral population established itself.
Conservation status
About 41 million donkeys were reported worldwide in 2006.[28] China had the most with 11 million,
followed by Pakistan, Ethiopia and Mexico. As of 2017, however, the Chinese population was reported to
have dropped to 3 million, with African populations under pressure as well, due to increasing trade and
demand for donkey products in China.[29] Some researchers believe the actual number may be
somewhat higher since many donkeys go uncounted.[30] The number of breeds and percentage of world
population for each of the FAO's world regions was in 2006:[28]

Region No. of breeds % of world pop.

 Africa 26 26.9

Asia and Pacific 32 37.6

Europe and the Caucasus 51 3.7

Latin America and the

24 19.9
Caribbean

Near and Middle East 47 11.8

United States and Canada 5 0.1

World 185 41 million head

The Baudet du Poitou is among the largest breeds of donkey

At a livestock market in Niger

In 1997 the number of donkeys in the world was reported to be continuing to grow, as it had steadily
done throughout most of history; factors cited as contributing to this were increasing human population,
progress in economic development and social stability in some poorer nations, conversion of forests to
farm and range land, rising prices of motor vehicles and fuel, and the popularity of donkeys as pets.[30]
[31] Since then, the world population of donkeys is reported to be rapidly shrinking, falling from 43.7
million to 43.5 million between 1995 and 2000, and to only 41 million in 2006.[28] The fall in population
is pronounced in developed countries; in Europe, the total number of donkeys fell from 3 million in 1944
to just over 1 million in 1994.[32]
The Domestic Animal Diversity Information System (DAD-IS) of the FAO listed 189 breeds of ass in June
2011.[33] In 2000 the number of breeds of donkey recorded worldwide was 97, and in 1995 it was 77.
The rapid increase is attributed to attention paid to identification and recognition of donkey breeds by
the FAO's Animal Genetic Resources project.[28] The rate of recognition of new breeds has been
particularly high in some developed countries. In France only one breed, the Baudet du Poitou, was
recognised until the early 1990s; by 2005, a further six donkey breeds had official recognition.[34]
In developed countries, the welfare of donkeys both at home and abroad has become a concern, and a
number of sanctuaries for retired and rescued donkeys have been set up. The largest is The Donkey
Sanctuary near Sidmouth, England, which also supports donkey welfare projects in Egypt, Ethiopia,
India, Kenya, and Mexico.[35]
In 2017, a drop in the number of Chinese donkeys, combined with the fact that they are slow to
reproduce, meant that Chinese suppliers began to look to Africa. As a result of the increase in demand,
and the price that could be charged, Kenya opened three donkey abattoirs. Concerns for donkeys' well-
being, however, have resulted in a number of African countries
(including Uganda, Tanzania, Botswana, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Senegal) banning China from
buying their donkey products.[36]
In 2019, The Donkey Sanctuary warned that the global donkey population could be reduced by half over
the next half decade as the demand for ejiao increases in China.[37][38]

Characteristics
See also: List of donkey breeds
Donkeys vary considerably in size, depending on both breed and environmental conditions, and heights
at the withers range from less than 90 centimetres (35 in) to approximately 150 cm (59 in).[1]: 6  Working
donkeys in the poorest countries have a life expectancy of 12 to 15 years;[39] in more prosperous
countries, they may have a lifespan of 30 to 50 years.[6]
Donkeys are adapted to marginal desert lands. Unlike wild and feral horses, wild donkeys in dry areas are
solitary and do not form harems. Each adult donkey establishes a home range; breeding over a large area
may be dominated by one jack.[40] The loud call or bray of the donkey, which typically lasts for twenty
seconds[41][42] and can be heard for over three kilometres, may help keep in contact with other
donkeys over the wide spaces of the desert.[43] Donkeys have large ears, which may pick up more
distant sounds, and may help cool the donkey's blood.[44] Donkeys can defend themselves by biting,
striking with the front hooves or kicking with the hind legs. Their vocalization, called a bray, is often
represented in English as "hee haw".
Cross on back
Most donkeys have dorsal and shoulder stripes, primitive markings which form a distinctive cross pattern
on their backs.[45][46]
Breeding
 A three-week-old donkey foal
A jenny is normally pregnant for about 12 months, though the gestation period varies from 11 to 14
months,[6][47] and usually gives birth to a single foal. Births of twins are rare, though less so than in
horses.[6] About 1.7 percent of donkey pregnancies result in twins; both foals survive in about 14
percent of those.[48] In general jennies have a conception rate that is lower than that of horses (i.e., less
than the 60–65% rate for mares).[6]
Although jennies come into heat within 9 or 10 days of giving birth, their fertility remains low, and it is
likely the reproductive tract has not returned to normal.[6] Thus it is usual to wait one or two
further oestrous cycles before rebreeding, unlike the practice with mares. Jennies are usually very
protective of their foals, and some will not come into estrus while they have a foal at side.[49] The time
lapse involved in rebreeding, and the length of a jenny's gestation, means that a jenny will have fewer
than one foal per year. Because of this and the longer gestation period, donkey breeders do not expect
to obtain a foal every year, as horse breeders often do, but may plan for three foals in four years.[6]
Donkeys can interbreed with other members of the family Equidae, and are commonly interbred with
horses. The hybrid between a jack and a mare is a mule, valued as a working and riding animal in many
countries. Some large donkey breeds such as the Asino di Martina Franca, the Baudet du Poitou and
the Mammoth Jack are raised only for mule production. The hybrid between a stallion and a jenny is
a hinny, and is less common. Like other inter-species hybrids, mules and hinnies are usually sterile.
[6] Donkeys can also breed with zebras, in which case the offspring is called a zonkey (among other
names).
Behaviour
Donkeys have a notorious reputation for stubbornness, but this has been attributed to a much stronger
sense of self-preservation than exhibited by horses.[50] Likely based on a stronger prey instinct and a
weaker connection with humans, it is considerably more difficult to force or frighten a donkey into doing
something it perceives to be dangerous for whatever reason. Once a person has earned their confidence
they can be willing and companionable partners and very dependable in work.[51]
Although formal studies of their behaviour and cognition are rather limited, donkeys appear to be quite
intelligent, cautious, friendly, playful, and eager to learn.[52]

Use
 

Classic British seaside donkeys in Skegness

 

Pack donkeys in Tayrona National Natural Park in northern Colombia

 
 

Donkeys for transport on the island of Hydra

 

Uyghur man on his donkey cart. Kashgar

The donkey has been used as a working animal for at least 5000 years. Of the more than 40 million
donkeys in the world, about 96% are in underdeveloped countries, where they are used principally as
pack animals or for draught work in transport or agriculture. After human labour, the donkey is the
cheapest form of agricultural power.[53] They may also be ridden, or used for threshing, raising water,
milling and other work.[54] Some cultures that prohibit women from working with oxen in agriculture do
not extend this taboo to donkeys.[55]
In developed countries where their use as beasts of burden has disappeared, donkeys are used to sire
mules, to guard sheep,[24][56] for donkey rides for children or tourists, and as pets. Donkeys may be
pastured or stabled with horses and ponies, and are thought to have a calming effect on nervous horses.
If a donkey is introduced to a mare and foal, the foal may turn to the donkey for support after it has been
weaned from its mother.[57]
A few donkeys are milked or raised for meat.[30] Approximately 3.5 million donkeys and mules are
slaughtered each year for meat worldwide.[58] In Italy, which has the highest consumption of equine
meat in Europe and where donkey meat is the main ingredient of several regional dishes, about 1,000
donkeys were slaughtered in 2010, yielding approximately 100 tonnes (98 long tons; 110 short tons) of
meat.[59] Asses' milk may command good prices: the average price in Italy in 2009 was €15 per litre,
[60] and a price of €6 per 100 ml was reported from Croatia in 2008; it is used for soaps and cosmetics as
well as dietary purposes. The niche markets for both milk and meat are expanding.[28] In the past,
donkey skin was used in the production of parchment.[28] In 2017, the UK based charity The Donkey
Sanctuary estimated that 1.8 million skins were traded every year, but the demand could be as high as
10 million.[36]

Lt. Richard Alexander "Dick" Henderson using a donkey to carry a wounded

soldier at the Battle of Gallipoli
In China, donkey meat is considered a delicacy with some restaurants specializing in such dishes,
and Guo Li Zhuang restaurants offer the genitals of donkeys in dishes. Donkey-hide gelatin is produced by
soaking and stewing the hide to make a traditional Chinese medicine product. Ejiao, the gelatine
produced by boiling donkey skins, can sell for up to $388 per kilo, at October 2017 prices.[61]
In warfare
During World War I John Simpson Kirkpatrick, a British stretcher bearer serving with the Australian and
New Zealand Army Corps, and Richard Alexander "Dick" Henderson of the New Zealand Medical
Corps used donkeys to rescue wounded soldiers from the battlefield at Gallipoli.[62][63]
According to British food writer Matthew Fort, donkeys were used in the Italian Army. The Mountain
Fusiliers each had a donkey to carry their gear, and in extreme circumstances the animal could be eaten.
[64]
Donkeys have also been used to carry explosives in conflicts that include the war in Afghanistan and
others.[65][66]

Care
Shoeing
A donkey shoe with calkins

Farriers shoeing a donkey in Cyprus in 1900

Donkey hooves are more elastic than those of horses, and do not naturally wear down as fast. Regular
clipping may be required; neglect can lead to permanent damage.[6] Working donkeys may need to be
shod. Donkey shoes are similar to horseshoes, but usually smaller and without toe-clips.
Nutrition
In their native arid and semi-arid climates, donkeys spend more than half of each day foraging and
feeding, often on poor quality scrub.[67] The donkey has a tough digestive system in which roughage is
efficiently broken down by hind gut fermentation, microbial action in the caecum and large intestine.
[67] While there is no marked structural difference between the gastro-intestinal tract of a donkey and
that of a horse, the digestion of the donkey is more efficient. It needs less food than a horse or pony of
comparable height and weight,[68] approximately 1.5 percent of body weight per day in dry matter,
[69] compared to the 2–2.5 percent consumption rate possible for a horse.[70] Donkeys are also less
prone to colic.[71] The reasons for this difference are not fully understood; the donkey may have
different intestinal flora to the horse, or a longer gut retention time.[72]
Donkeys obtain most of their energy from structural carbohydrates. Some suggest that a donkey needs
to be fed only straw (preferably barley straw), supplemented with controlled grazing in the summer
or hay in the winter,[73] to get all the energy, protein, fat and vitamins it requires; others recommend
some grain to be fed, particularly to working animals,[6] and others advise against feeding straw.
[16] They do best when allowed to consume small amounts of food over long periods. They can meet
their nutritional needs on 6 to 7 hours of grazing per day on average dryland pasture that is not stressed
by drought. If they are worked long hours or do not have access to pasture, they require hay or a similar
dried forage, with no more than a 1:4 ratio of legumes to grass. They also require salt and mineral
supplements, and access to clean, fresh water.[74] In temperate climates the forage available is often too
abundant and too rich; over-feeding may cause weight gain and obesity, and lead to metabolic disorders
such as founder (laminitis[75]) and hyperlipaemia,[73] or to gastric ulcers.[76]
Throughout the world, working donkeys are associated with the very poor, with those living at or below
subsistence level.[54] Few receive adequate food, and in general donkeys throughout the Third
World are under-nourished and over-worked.[77]
Feral populations

Feral burros in Red Rock Canyon

In some areas domestic donkeys have returned to the wild and established feral populations such as
those of the burro of North America and the Asinara donkey of Sardinia, Italy, both of which have
protected status.[citation needed] Feral donkeys can also cause problems, notably in environments that
have evolved free of any form of equid, such as Hawaii.[78] In Australia, where there may be 5
million feral donkeys,[26] they are regarded as an invasive pest and have a serious impact on the
environment. They may compete with livestock and native animals for resources, spread weeds and
diseases, foul or damage watering holes and cause erosion.[79]

Donkey hybrids
The earliest documented donkey hybrid was the kunga, which was used as a draft animal in the Syrian
and Mesopotamian kingdoms of the second half of the 3rd millennium BCE. A cross between a captive
male Syrian wild ass and a female domesticated donkey (jenny), they represent the earliest known
example of human-directed animal hybridization. They were produced at a breeding center at Nagar
(modern Tell Brak) and were sold or given as gifts throughout the region, where they became significant
status symbols, pulling battle wagons and the chariots of kings, and also being sacrificed to bury with
high-status people. They fell out of favor following the introduction of the domestic horse and its donkey
hybrid, the mule, into the region at the end of the 3rd millennium BCE.[80]
A male donkey (jack) crossed with a female horse produces a mule, while a male horse crossed with a
jenny produces a hinny. Horse-donkey hybrids are almost always sterile because of a failure of their
developing gametes to complete meiosis.[81] The lower progesterone production of the jenny may also
lead to early embryonic loss. In addition, there are reasons not directly related to reproductive biology.
Due to different mating behavior, jacks are often more willing to cover mares than stallions are to breed
jennies. Further, mares are usually larger than jennies and thus have more room for the ensuing foal to
grow in the womb, resulting in a larger animal at birth. It is commonly believed that mules are more
easily handled and also physically stronger than hinnies, making them more desirable for breeders to
produce.[citation needed]
The offspring of a zebra-donkey cross is called a zonkey, zebroid, zebrass, or zedonk;[82] zebra mule is an
older term, but still used in some regions today. The foregoing terms generally refer to hybrids produced
by breeding a male zebra to a female donkey. Zebra hinny, zebret and zebrinny all refer to the cross of a
female zebra with a male donkey. Zebrinnies are rarer than zedonkies because female zebras in captivity
are most valuable when used to produce full-blooded zebras.[83] There are not enough female zebras
breeding in captivity to spare them for hybridizing; there is no such limitation on the number of female
donkeys breeding.

See also
  Animal-borne bomb attacks
 Cultural references to donkeys
 Jennet, a type of medieval horse

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show
v
t
e
Extant Perissodactyla (Odd-toed ungulates) species by suborder

show
v
t
e
Species of the genus Equus
 show
v
t
e
Working animals
Portals:
  Horses
  Mammals
  Animals
  Biology
  Agriculture

Taxon identifiers

 Wikidata: Q19707
 BioLib: 503178
 EPPO: EQUUAA
ricanus  GBIF: 9103830
 GISD: 639
 ITIS: 926235
 NZOR: b6a4287c-cfd0-48db-85fe-eea114355cf8
 uBio: 105962

inus  Wikidata: Q19829417
 Wikispecies: Equus asinus
 ADW: Equus_asinus
 AFD: Equus_(Asinus)_asinus
 BOLD: 27255
 Fossilworks: 104269
 GBIF: 2440891
 iNaturalist: 148030
 IRMNG: 10199008
 ISC: 84021
 ITIS: 180690
 NatureServe: 2.105962
 NBN: NHMSYS0020975282
 NCBI: 9793
 TSA: 6611

show
Authority control 
Categories: 
 Domesticated animals
 Donkeys
 Mammals as pets
 Mammals described in 1758
 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
 African wild ass
 Pack animals
 Subspecies
 This page was last edited on 5 June 2023, at 20:42 (UTC).
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