Donkey
Donkey | |
---|---|
In Clovelly, North Devon | |
Domesticated
| |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Perissodactyla |
Family: | Equidae |
Genus: | Equus |
Species: | |
Subspecies: | E. a. asinus
|
Trinomial name | |
Equus africanus asinus |
The donkey is a domesticated equine. 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
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, on the basis of the
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.
Burro is a word for donkey in both Spanish and
: 147History
The genus Equus, which includes all extant equines, is believed to have evolved from
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.
The ancestors of the modern donkey are the
By the end of the fourth millennium BC, the donkey had spread to Southwest Asia, and the main breeding centre had shifted to
The first donkeys came to the Americas on ships of the
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 Caribbean | 24 | 19.9 |
Near and Middle East | 47 | 11.8 |
United States and Canada | 5 | 0.1 |
World | 185 | 41 million head |
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 (
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
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 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.
Donkeys can interbreed with other members of the family Equidae, and are commonly interbred with horses. The
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
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
In developed countries where their use as beasts of burden has disappeared, donkeys are used to sire mules, to guard
A few donkeys are milked or raised for meat.
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 kilogram, at October 2017 prices.[61]
In warfare
During World War I
According to British food writer
Donkeys have also been used to carry explosives in conflicts that include the
Care
Shoeing
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.
Donkeys obtain most of their energy from
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
In some areas domestic donkeys have returned to the wild and established
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
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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External links
- The dictionary definition of donkey at Wiktionary
- The dictionary definition of bray at Wiktionary
- Media related to Equus asinus at Wikimedia Commons