Weekly Dose of Cute: Zonkey

OK, everyone. I'm back. I swear. I know, I know - It's been awhile. But we've finally settled in here in Hawaii and are having a blast enjoying the gorgeous weather and new surroundings. Sorry I've neglected you all for so long - I know, I'm a jackass.

No wait, that's these little guys:



OK, to be fair, they're only 1/2 jackasses - they're 1/2 donkey, 1/2 zebra. They're Zonkeys - or zebrasses, zebronkeys, zeasses, zeedonks, zebadonks, zenkeys, donbras, donbris, or deebras... not one of which is a technically correct term for them. The better terms, to those who claim to know such things, are zebrinnies, zebrulas, and zedonks. A zebrinny is the offspring of a male donkey and a female zebra; a zebrula is the offspring of a male zebra and a female donkey; a zedonk is the offspring of any zebra and any donkey - or, just generically, they're all zebroids (crosses between a zebra and some other horse species).

The reasons such crosses are possible is that donkeys (Equus africanus asinus) and zebras (Equus quagga, Equus zebra, or Equus grevyi) are both closely related members of the horse family. Even still, these mixes are rare. But they do occur where the two species are kept in close quarters or when people decide that a cute hybrid sounds like a fun idea. Like mules (crosses between horses and donkeys), they are genetically sterile due to an odd number of chromosomes disrupting meiosis. The trouble is that donkeys have 62 chromosomes while zebras have anywhere between 32 and 46, depending on the species. Somehow, the weird combination allows for viable gestation and development, but not viable sperm or eggs to continue the next generation.

There is one recorded case where a zonkey has successfully bred - at least according to Charles Darwin. In The Origin of Species, he reported a case of a zonkey that mated with a bay mare to produce a horse-zebra-donkey hybrid. Unfortunately, no such successful pairings have been recorded since... It would have been fun to try and name them. Zehordonks? Hordonkbras? Donzeeorses?

More like this

tags: zorse, zebroid, zebra-horse hybrid, Eclyse This equid with distinctive markings is a zorse -- the hybrid offspring of a female zebra and a male horse. Eclyse (Ek LEE za) is the latest addition to the German safari park, Schloss Holte Stukenbrock. Eclyse is also special as zorses, or…
I'm not going to create a new category for this creature, because I never expect to blog about these critters again. At least it's clear that she's a mammal. A zedonk, an unusual cross between a donkey and a zebra, is attracting attention at Chestatee Wildlife Preserve in north Georgia after being…
tags: zebras, Equus quagga burchelli, photography, Image of the Day Burchell's (plains) zebras, Equus quagga burchelli, create a mirror image in their enclosure at the Zoological Park in Delhi, India. Image: BBCNews. Burchell's zebra has distinctive stripes that run diagonally and lengthways on…
Over the years, the field guide and the coffee table book have merged, and we now have coffee table-ish books (but serious books) that include a species description of every critter in a certain clade. In the case of Horses of the World by Élise Rousseau (Author), Yann Le Bris (Illustrator),…

Zebra mom, Zoey, and donkey dad just had baby Zach -- any insight as to how to imprint on zebra and zedonk would be much appreciated. Some progress from just sitting in stable area with oats nearby -- today Zoey ate next to my foot and sniffed and touched my knee with her nose. We have hundreds of acres and grandkids who love feeding, watering, and brushing the donkeys, but need insight as to how to bond with zebra and zebroid. Anticipate multiple generations of love and care for these beautiful creatures based on longevity projections for their kind.

By Zonkey Gma (not verified) on 12 May 2012 #permalink