Rare Animal Discovered in Kenya: Like a Zebra and a Donkey, But What to Call It?!
A zebra and a donkey, wind, horse and donkey are unrelated, but recently, in Kenya's Maasai Mara National Reserve, people discovered a female zebra accompanied by a foal. It was clearly her child. However, the foal seemed not to be of the same species as her, as if she had adopted another animal as a son.
Animal rescue and rehabilitation organizations received the report and, after close observation of the pair, noticed a familiar yet strange phenomenon. Familiar was the foal's legs bearing zebra markings, indicating a relationship with the female zebra. Strange was the rest of its features, seemingly unrelated to zebras, almost like… a donkey!
Could it be that the female zebra secretly engaged in an affair with a male donkey, leading to a clandestine encounter? Staff quickly clarified the situation, revealing that the zebra was a stray zebra who had ventured into a community last year in Tsavo East National Park and had spent some time amongst the local livestock.
It seems that when the zebra was spending time in the local community, the zebra fell in love with a white donkey, leading to a hormonal interaction, resulting in a mixture of genetic material that resulted in the birth of this non-donkey, non-zebra foal.
Zebras and donkeys both belong to the Equidae family and can produce hybrid animals, such as mules. So, what is a hybrid between a zebra and a donkey called? It's a bit difficult to name, but the currently used names are: zonkey, but perhaps less accurately, following the principle of 'father' being in front, 'donkey zebra' is more accurate.
The donkey zebra is destined to become a star of the Maasai Mara National Reserve, bringing in more tourists. Like mules, however, the donkey zebra can live normally in the Maasai Mara for life, but it will not have offspring as it grows up. The nocturnal encounter between the donkey and the zebra, although breaking down the barriers between domestic animals and wildlife, has led to a child born, which is a regrettable and painful situation.
