Meet Peanut, the male Jerusalem donkey that lives at Kaleideum North. Peanut was born at Kaleideum North (formerly SciWorks) in 2006.
Here’s five fun facts about donkeys with questions in parentheses you can research on your own.
- Donkeys are also called “burros” and “asses,” and they are members of the Equidae (horse) family, which also includes horses and zebras. (What is the closest relative to the horse family? Hint: it’s not found in a barnyard.)
- There are three types of donkeys: wild, feral, and domesticated. (What is the difference between a wild donkey and feral donkey?)
- Genetic fingerprints indicate that wild African asses were the ancestors of domestic donkeys. They were first domesticated around 6,000 years ago in North Africa and Egypt for milk and meat. (Which state in the United States has the most wild donkeys today?)
- Donkeys can actually breed with horses or zebras; however, they have different numbers of chromosomes, so their offspring are typically infertile.(What is a mule?)
- Almost all donkeys have a cross on their back, a dorsal stripe running down from between the ears to the tip of their tail and a perpendicular line through the dorsal stripe across the withers and down over the shoulders. Researchers believe the same gene that causes a camouflaging color in modern horses is behind the stripes on the coats of several other animals in the horse family. (What is the legend of the Jerusalem donkey?)
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