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It has long ears, its "uh-huh- uh- But donkeys, much more than that! There's quite a bit more we can say about donkeys.
Remember the monologue "I'm Alone" sung by the poor-mouthed donkey in the movie "Shrek"?
In fact, in real life, donkeys, like most social animals, do not like to stay with their own donkeys. Companionship, for donkeys, is as important as food and water. Long-term group life allowed them to evolve a sociable nature. According to the Uk Donkey Shelter, donkeys usually have one-on-one partnerships, and if you try to separate the donkey from your spouse, it can cause serious problems. Donkeys can even form strong emotional bonds with other animals on the same prairie or pasture, and this connection sometimes accompanies them for a lifetime.
A donkey is an aggressive animal against canines, and it can barely be used to protect against attacks on flocks by animals like wild dogs and wolves, acting as a protector for other livestock animals. Although the donkey itself may become a predator when confronted with large animals such as lions or bears, the donkey is still a widely accepted alarmer anyway: it may not be able to repel attackers, but its "uh-huh" cry is enough to summon ranchers to protect the herd.
The donkey's "uh- and uh-uh- Research from the Acoustics Society of America shows that "unlike other equine animals, donkeys can make sounds when they breathe in and exhale." These seemingly mechanically emitted syllables barely changed at all, and did not stop until the donkey was short of breath. ”
Donkeys have a strong instinct for self-defense, and when they feel they are in danger, they do not run away immediately, but stand still. This trait of a donkey is fundamentally different from a horse that tries to escape when frightened. Perhaps, it is precisely because of this characteristic that people use "stubborn like a donkey" to describe the unusually stubborn personality of some people.
People also use the word "stupid donkey" to describe someone who is stupid. People often misinterpret donkeys as a stubborn and stupid animal, but in fact donkeys are very clever. In the cognitive tests of horses, donkeys and mules, donkeys and mules outperformed horses. When dealing with problems, donkeys and mules are more accurate and faster than horses.
Speaking of mules, donkeys are close relatives of horses and have the ability to produce offspring for horses. The offspring of the stallion and the female donkey are called "horse mules"; the descendants of mares and male donkeys are called "donkey mules". In the West, male offspring produced by the hybridization of donkeys and horses are called "John Mule" by Westerners; female offspring are named "Jasmine". Mules born of donkeys and horses are usually incapable of reproduction. Male mules with reproductive abilities have never been present. The number of female mules with reproductive ability has been recorded to be more than 60. The odds that mules will reproduce are really slim.
Crossbreeding between zebras and donkeys also occurs, but their offspring are not called spotted mules, but are called spotted donkeys.
Today's donkeys were domesticated from Wild African donkeys thousands of years ago. The African wild ass is a subspecies of the wild ass and the other subspecies is the Asian wild ass. There are two more subspecies of the African wild ass, the Nubian wild ass and the Somali wild ass.
The extant African wild ass is on the verge of extinction, with only 200 adult wild donkeys remaining in nature. Wild donkeys face many dilemmas, including competing with other animals for scarce water resources in arid and semi-arid areas; being poached; and the impact of humans on their habitat, with fences, railroads and roads cutting off their migration routes. For similar reasons, the fate of the Asian wild ass is not much better.
A 2011 article referred to the protection of wild asses in Asia, "arguing that wildlife crossings should be built over or under railways, and that ecological corridors should be built along the China-Mongolia border to open fences for wildlife migration." If these protected areas can be connected, people can provide more than 70,000 square kilometers of habitat for wild donkeys.
Fortunately, there are still people in the world who are willing to protect this endangered animal.
Established in 1972, the Wild Donkey Sanctuary in little Lane Swamp in Kachi County, Gujarat, India, is the largest nature reserve in India. Today, it is one of the last habitats of the Indian wild donkey. According to the 2015 survey, the number of wild donkeys in Kachi County, Girat has risen to 4451, an increase of 454 over the previous survey. Forest officials say the number of wild donkeys has increased by ten percent from the last time — a big leap forward at both the national and international levels.
In addition, in Israel's Yotwata Sea Dam Nature Reserve, a group of Somali wild donkeys live. The Somali wild donkey is famous for its beautiful black rope-like fur that hangs all the way down to the legs.
The wild ass is a species with strong resilience. If people can put in place and implement regulations that protect their habitat from destruction and keep their migration paths open, they are likely to recover.
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