Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The donkey has been used as a working animal for at least 5000 years. Of the more than 40 million donkeys in the world, about 96% are in underdeveloped countries, where they are used principally as pack animals or for draught work in transport or agriculture. After human labour, the donkey is the cheapest form of agricultural power. [53]
A miniature donkey and a standard donkey, mother and daughter. North American donkeys constitute approximately 0.1% of the worldwide donkey population. [1] [a] Donkeys were first transported from Europe to the New World in the fifteenth century during the Second Voyage of Christopher Columbus, [2]: 179 and subsequently spread south and west into the lands that would become México. [3]
The Baudet du Poitou, also called the Poitevin or Poitou donkey, is a French breed of donkey. It is one of the largest breeds, and jacks (donkey stallions) were bred to mares of the Poitevin horse breed to produce Poitevin mules, which were formerly in worldwide demand for agricultural and other work.
Donkeys packed on the way to a mine in Alma, Colorado, late 1880s. Medieval pack horse and donkey in Hortus Deliciarum, Europe, 12th century, when packing was a major means of transport of goods US Marines training in resupply with pack mules.
Conversely, not all domesticated animals are working animals. For example, while cats may catch mice, it is an instinctive behavior, not one that can be trained by human intervention. Other domesticated animals, such as sheep or rabbits, may have agricultural uses for meat, hides and wool, but are not suitable for work
The American Mammoth Jackstock is a breed of North American donkey, descended from large donkeys imported to the United States from about 1785. George Washington, with Henry Clay and others, bred for an ass that could be used to produce strong work mules. Washington was offering his jacks for stud service by 1788.
Little miniature donkeys measure under 36 inches at full height, while mammoth donkeys can grow up to around 5 feet tall and can even be big enough to ride on! 10. Donkeys Often Live Long Lives
the Poitou donkey was developed for the sole purpose of the jacks being mated with mares to produce mules. It is a large donkey breed with a very long shaggy coat and no dorsal stripe: Benderi: Iran: Biyang: China: Bourik: Haiti: Brasil: Venezuela: Bulgaro: Venezuela: Bulgarian donkey: Bulgaria: Burro: Mexico, Nicaragua, United States