Donkey 

Origin of the Donkey: About 2.5 million years ago the Equus arrived in Africa. Those that went to central Africa developed into the zebra; the ones that went to Europe, Asia, and the Middle East eventually evolved into our modern horse; and those that went to North Africa and Asia developed into the donkey. 

History of Uses of the Donkey: In Africa and in Egypt the donkey was domesticated as far back as 4000 BC. At that time, the donkey was used as a beast of burden and developed the long distance trade. The donkeys’ milk was used for food and for cosmetic products to promote white skin. The donkey was easily trained and so was used to plant seeds by treading the seeds into the ground and to help in harvesting the crop.

The donkey is thought to have first arrived in America in 1495 with Columbus and became popular as a work animal. Today the donkey is still being used as light draft animal, a companion animal, a show animal, and for the breeding of mules. 

Description and Characteristics of the Donkey: The donkey has great endurance and stamina and comes in all colors and sizes. Very often the donkeys’ coat is a gray dun color with a lighter muzzle, and belly. They have a dark dorsal stripe and a stripe crossing at the shoulder. Their ears are black tipped, and very long and expressive. They have small, hard hooves that can travel over rough terrain. They have a loud characteristic bray. A male is called a jack and a female is a jennet.   

Caring for the Donkey:  Donkeys are small but sturdy animals and very intelligent. For some reason, donkeys needs often tend to be minimized or in some way misunderstood. They may be hardy creatures but they do require care similar to a horse – hoof care, suitable feed, turn-out with some shelter, some veterinarian care, etc. If the donkey is kept on softer ground, they need regular hoof trimming because the hoof material is too hard for them to wear it off.