The donkey is a domesticated animal descended from the African wild ass, tamed in Africa 5,000–7,000 years ago. In the American West, donkeys called burros still roam public lands, protected by federal law since 1971.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Height ranges from under 35 in (90 cm) to about 59 in (150 cm) at the shoulder, depending on breed. Most are grayish-brown with a dark stripe down the back that crosses a shoulder stripe. Large, long ears and a tail with long hair only at the tip. Wild burros in the US average about 44 in (11 ) tall and 500 lb (227 kg).
- Voice
- The famous "hee-haw" bray can last about 20 seconds and carry about 2 miles (3 km) or more.
Look-alikes
Domestic HorseEquus caballus
Donkeys have much longer ears, a tail with long hair only at the tip, and often a dark cross on the back and shoulders. A horse's tail is long-haired all the way down.
Why they get mixed upSame genus and similar build; small ponies can be about donkey-sized.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Farms and ranches
- Desert rangeland (feral burros)
- Range
- Kept worldwide, with nearly 54 million animals. In the US, wild burros live on public rangeland in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Oregon.
- Preferred conditions
- Well suited to hot, dry country and poor-quality forage.
Behavior
- Diet
- Grazes and browses on coarse grasses and shrubs, spending more than half the day feeding. It needs less food than a horse of the same size.
- Social life
- Donkeys have a strong sense of self-preservation and refuse to be pushed into anything that seems dangerous, which earned them a reputation for stubbornness. On US farms they're also used as guard animals for sheep and goats.
Life cycle
- Gestation
- About 12 months (11–14)
- Litter size
- Usually 1 foal; twins are rare
- Lifespan
- 30–50 years with good care
Name and classification
- About the name
- Some classifications treat the donkey as a subspecies of the African wild ass, Equus africanus asinus; others keep it as its own species, Equus asinus. A male is a jack, a female is a jenny, and "burro" (Spanish for donkey) usually means the feral donkeys of the western US.
- Varieties and forms
- Breeds vary widely in size. The American Mammoth Jack is a big breed raised mainly to produce mules; France's shaggy Baudet du Poitou is among the largest.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
- Status
- Wild burros on federal land are protected under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 and managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service.
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- Donkeys may have reached what is now the US with Juan de Oñate's expedition in 1598. During the Gold Rush they were the prospector's favorite pack animal, and many abandoned animals became today's wild herds.
- In 2019, donkeys made up about 14% of the livestock guardian animals used in the US.
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