A donkey is a mammal, artiodactyl.
In many countries, and now, donkey, or donkey, lives next to people. The animal wild donkey participated in the formation of this economic subspecies.
Domestic donkeys, as proved, appeared earlier than domesticated horses and for a long time were practically the main vehicle.
Donkey: characteristics, origin
As in the case of many other animals, for example, horses, it should be distinguished among wild and feral donkeys. Wild donkey has its own characteristics. But we will talk about them a little later.
Donkeys can be found in a wide variety of colors: gray, black, brown, occasionally white. The color of the abdomen, the front of the muzzle and the area around the eyes is usually light. The mane and tail are tough. At the end of the tail is a brush. Ears are clearly longer than equine.
The height of the donkeys varies between 90-160 cm. Puberty is reached by about 2.5 years.
Due to the fact that their hooves do not tolerate the European humid climate (deep holes and cracks are formed in which ulcers appear), caring for them is extremely important.
These animals come from countries with arid climatic conditions.
Wild Donkey: name, description, habitat
The wild donkey (Equus asinus) in the long past, most likely, was widespread in the North African deserts. Unfortunately, it has hardly been studied as a species.
The ancestor of the domestic donkey (North Africa) has the appearance of a typical long-eared animal, growing much smaller than a horse (height up to 1.4 m), thin-legged, with a massive head and short mane.
Once upon a time, various subspecies of this ungulate lived in North Africa and parts of Asia. As a result of taming, they almost all disappeared back in the ancient Roman era.
Today they are preserved only in the hills off the Egyptian coast of the Red Sea, in Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and Eritrea. A small population was able to take root in the Israeli reserve.
In Somalia, as a result of the civil war, the wild donkey may have completely disappeared. In Ethiopia and in Sudan, probably, the same fate awaits him too. Eritrea alone has a good number of these animals - about 400 individuals.
Feral Donkeys: Spread
Wild (once former domestic) donkeys, in comparison with the primordially wild, exist in many countries of the world. There are also in countries with populations of wild donkeys, which causes serious concerns of zoologists. They believe that this situation can lead to a mixture of both groups, and this will lead to the destruction of the genetic purity of the wild donkey.
Quite a lot of feral animals live in the steppes of Australia (1.5 million). In the southwestern United States - about 6 thousand donkeys (burros), which are protected.
One of the small European populations of such donkeys is also found on Fr. Capras. They are larger than other donkeys. Their unusualness also lies in the fact that zebra-like stripes are observed on the legs.
Perhaps the wild donkey is not at all wild. Most of the animals that people have seen in nature in recent years are almost feral domestic animals. The wild donkey has been little studied. Everything that is known about him: he lives mainly in the desert and semi-desert. It feeds mainly on vegetation.
Lifestyle
Like zebras, donkeys are kept in family herds (10 mares and young) led by a stallion. They roam widely and are very careful. In nature, both smooth-haired and long-haired and curly-haired can be found.
They mate mainly in the spring, less often at the beginning of summer. After about 1 year (13-14 months), one or two foals are born who are fed breast milk up to 6 months of age.
A donkey is very attached to its cubs. The foal reaches independence by almost two years.
