Donkeys have a long and interesting history and their close interaction with humans has resulted in a rich legacy of folklore and myth in ancient Middle-Eastern cultures, and donkeys are included in many biblical stories.
Wild asses use visual displays, smells, physical contact, and vocalizations to communicate. They have keen hearing and good senses of vision and smell.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Although the future of wild and feral donkeys is uncertain, domestic donkeys are not in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future. However, donkey lovers in the United States and Europe have founded many organizations dedicated to the rescue, preservation, and care of wild, abandoned, or unwanted donkeys. Feral donkeys in Death Valley National Park, California, were under strict population control for many years because they were competing with desert bighorn sheep for very limited resources. Many authorities felt that donkeys were driving the already threatened bighorn sheep to extinction, and about 400 wild donkeys were shot between 1987 and 1995 by National Park Service Rangers as part of their "Direct Reduction" policy.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
The cost of population control of feral donkeys in North America and Europe have been appreciable in some areas. Feral donkeys may contribute to habitat degradation and erosion, particularly in areas where they are not native.
Since donkeys were first domesticated about six thousand years ago, they have been very important in human economies. Egyptian tombs of Dynasty IV (ca. 2675 to 2565 B.C.) indicate that ownership of donkeys was a status symbol, and the elite of society may have owned herds of over a thousand head. Donkeys played a very important role in developing long-distance trade in Egypt, because of their weight-bearing capacity and their adaptation for desert travel. In ancient Egypt, female donkeys were kept as dairy animals. Donkey milk is higher in sugar and protein than cow's milk. The milk was also used for cosmetic and medicinal purposes. Donkey meat was eaten as food by many people. There were domesticated donkeys in Europe by the second millenium B.C. and the first donkeys came to the New World with Christopher Columbus in 1495. Donkeys were introduced to the United States with Mexican explorers. Many of the wild donkeys in the southwestern United States are descendants of escaped or abandoned burros brought by Mexican explorers during the Gold Rush. Throughout history donkeys have been invaluable as beasts of burden. Even today, donkeys are of great economic importance especially in remote areas. They are being used extensively in efforts to boost the economy and alleviate poverty in poorer areas of the world. Miniature donkeys are very popular as companion animals and for show. Mammoth stock are still used as draft animals in small farming businesses around the world.
Positive Impacts: food ; body parts are source of valuable material
Wild donkeys impact desert vegetation through their grazing and browsing.
Donkeys are grazing herbivores, with large, flat-surfaced teeth adapted for tearing and chewing plant matter. Their primary food is grass, but they also eat other shrubs and desert plants. Like many other grazing animals, they grasp the plant first with their muscular lips, pull it into their mouth, and then tear it off with their teeth.
In a study of feral donkeys in Arizona, they were found to eat 33% forbs and 40% browse.
Plant Foods: leaves; wood, bark, or stems
Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore )
True wild asses are found only in northern Africa and the Arabian peninsula, but domesticated and feral donkeys can now be found in all parts of the world. The native range extends from Morocco to Somalia and Mesopotamia to Oman.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Introduced ); palearctic (Introduced ); oriental (Introduced ); ethiopian (Introduced , Native ); neotropical (Introduced ); australian (Introduced ); oceanic islands (Introduced )
Other Geographic Terms: cosmopolitan
Domestic donkeys are widely distributed and can be found almost everywhere in the world. However, true wild asses originated in the hilly, undulating deserts of northern Africa and the Arabian peninsula and are well-adapted for life in the desert. Domestic donkeys prefer warm, dry climates and, if left to become feral, they will return to such a habitat, like the feral burros of Death Valley National Park in California. Deserts are characterized by low, unpredictable rainfall and sparse vegetation.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: desert or dune ; savanna or grassland
Other Habitat Features: agricultural
The average life span of a wild donkey is 25 to 30 years, but in captivity they can live to be 40 to 50 years old.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 25-30 years.
Range lifespan
Status: captivity: 40-50 (high) years.
Typical lifespan
Status: wild: 25 to 30 years.
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 47.0 years.
Donkeys resemble horses and are characterized by their large head, long ears, and cow-like tail. They come in black, white, paint, and all shades of brown and gray, but the most common is a mousy gray color called gray dun. Many donkeys are spotted, speckled, or striped. Most solid-color donkeys have a dark dorsal stripe from mane to tail and a dark stripe across their shoulders. They have an erect mane and lack the forelock of a horse. Their hair can be straight, curly, short and wiry, or long and wooly. Wild asses average 200 cm in body length, 45 cm in tail length, 125 cm at the shoulder, and weight 250 kg. Domestic breed size varies greatly depending on breed. Miniatures, the smallest breed of donkeys, stand less than 36 inches (92 cm) at the shoulder and weigh less than 400 pounds (180 kg). Standard donkeys, the average-sized breed, range from 36 inches to 48 inches (92 cm to 123 cm) and weigh 400 to 500 pounds (180 to 225 kg). Mammoth stock, the largest breed of donkeys, stand at an average height of 56 inches (143 cm) and weigh about 950 pounds (430 kg). Miniature and mammoth stock donkeys have been bred by humans to possess certain characteristics that are more desirable or suitable for specific purposes. For example, miniature donkeys are often preferred as pets because their small size makes them easier to care for, and the larger mammoth stock donkeys are stronger work animals than standard donkeys are. There is generally very little sexual dimorphism in donkeys. Wild asses have the longest and narrowest hooves of any Equus species.
Average mass: 250 kg.
Average length: 200 cm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
Average mass: 250000 g.
Average basal metabolic rate: 164.92 W.
Living in groups increases the number of animals keeping an eye out for predators. Most predation probably occurs on foals and elderly animals. Predators on wild donkeys may have included lions and wolves.
Smaller herds of wild asses are generally made up of one male and several females. Larger herds have multiple males and females. There don't seem to be any permanent bonds among individuals, herds are highly flexible, breaking up and reforming on an almost daily basis. Dominant male wild asses sometimes defend large territories in which many potential mates are also found. Subordinate males are also tolerated within the dominant male's territory.
Mating System: polygynous
Domesticated donkeys can be bred at any time of year, wild asses generally breed in the wet season. The gestation period is usually 12 months, and foals weigh between 19 and 30 pounds (8.6 to 13.6 kg) at birth. Donkey foals are fully developed at birth and can usually stand and nurse about 30 minutes after birth. The young are weaned from the mother at about 5 months of age. Females reach sexual maturity at 2 years of age and can give birth to one foal each year after that. Males may reach sexual maturity as early as 2 years old but are more likely to become dominant enough to control mating at 3 to 4 years old.
Members of the genus Equus can often interbreed to produce hybrids. Donkeys can be bred with horses and zebras to produce sterile hybrids. A cross between a male donkey (jack) and a female horse (mare) produces a mule. A cross between a female donkey (jennet or jenny) and a male horse (stallion) produces a hinny. A cross between a zebra and a donkey produces a zebrass or a zonkey.
Breeding interval: Wild asses give birth each year.
Breeding season: Breeding generally occurs in the wet season in the wild, although domestic and some feral populations breed year-round.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Average gestation period: 12 months.
Average weaning age: 5 months.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 2 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous
Average birth mass: 30000 g.
Average gestation period: 359 days.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
Sex: male: 1005 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
Sex: female: 708 days.
Female wild asses nurse and care for their young until they are weaned at about 5 months old. Young wild asses are capable of standing and following their mothers within a few hours of birth.
Parental Investment: no parental involvement; precocial ; pre-fertilization (Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female)
