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  • Rare Zonkey Born At Zoo In Mexico

    Rare Zonkey Born At Zoo In Mexico

    A rare zonkey was born at the Reynosa Zoo in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas in Mexico. The baby zonkey was born on April 21 and his name is Khumba.

    Although there are other zonkeys in the world, they are very rare. Zebras and donkeys have a different number of chromosomes. Zebras have between 32 and 46 and donkeys have 62. In spite of this difference, zonkeys can be born if the gene combination in the hybrid allows for embryonic development to birth. Zonkey chromosomes can range between 32 and 62.

    The birth of the baby zonkey was celebrated by the zoo and the rest of the world who learned about it on Twitter where photos of the zonkey went viral. Everyone was gushing over the baby zonkey who seems a little shy and prefers to stay close to his mother.

    https://twitter.com/syedahmadirfan/status/459656214138597376

    When any other type of equine animal is mixed with a zebra, the offspring is called a zebroid. The zebroids are then categorized by the type of animals they are crossed with. Offspring from zebras and horses are called zorses, offspring from zebras and ponies are called zonies and offspring from zebras and donkeys are called zonkeys.

    Like other hybrid animals, zonkeys cannot reproduce. Most zonkeys will look like both parents and will have stripes on part but not all of their body. Baby Khumba has stripes on his legs and could develop more when he grows older. Most zebroids will have stripes on their legs, hind quarters and neck.

    Although zonkeys are rare, Khumba is not the only one alive. In 2005, a zonkey named Alex was born in Barbados. Another zonkey named Ippo was born in Italy in 2013.

    What do you think of baby Khumba?


    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Zonkey Born in Northern Mexico Zoo

    Zonkey Born in Northern Mexico Zoo

    Reynosa Zoo in northern Mexico welcomed a new baby zonkey to their facility on Monday, April 21.

    A what, you ask? A zonkey. Zebra + Donkey = Zonkey.

    The newborn named Khumba is quite a rare species in the animal world since zebra and donkey chromosomes are not usually compatible; however, when Khumba’s mother, a female zebra named Rayas, met up with Ignacio, a blue-eyed albino donkey from a nearby farm, nature took its course. In fact, Rayas used to visit Ignacio every afternoon until eventually (wink wink), she became pregnant.

    But Khumba is not actually the first zonkey to be born. Last year Ippo, another zonkey, was born in Florence, Italy. Mix breeds have also happened in the United States, Japan, China, and South Africa, where zebras and donkeys are found in close proximity to each other.

    In 1859 Charles Darwin actually mentioned four colored drawings of hybrids between a zebra and an ass (zass?) in The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, writing that he had seen such a specimen in the British Museum.

    The true term for any offspring born of a zebra and other equine is zebroid. This can refer to a zony (zebra-pony), zorses (zebra-horses) … well, you get the picture. Most of the time these combinations are only possible if the zebra is the sire, or father, but the case in the Reynosa Zoo this week proves otherwise.

    In the case of most zebroids, the offspring normally resemble the non-zebra parent. This is the case for Khumba who looks like a light brown donkey wearing black and white leggings.

    Post by Zoologico De Reynosa.

    Of course, animals hooking up with other animals to create new ones doesn’t just occur in the zebroid world. Fans of Napoleon Dynamite may remember a reference to a liger, a hybrid of a lion and tiger, bred for its “skills in magic.” Other occurrences of note include the cama (camel and a llama), the jagulep (jaguar and leopard), the grolar bear (grizzly and polar bear), and the beefalo (cattle and bison).

    Khumba the zonkey, or “cebrasno” in Spanish, can be seen at Reynosa Zoo, an educational and interactive entertainment in Tamaulipas.

    Image via Facebook

  • Zonkey Born In Italy After Zebra Climbed Fence To Mate With Donkey

    A rare zonkey has been born in Florence, Italy after a zebra became amorous and climbed a fence to mate with a female donkey.

    Officials at the wildlife reserve say the fence was put up for just that reason, but you can’t stop true love. The zebra didn’t let a little fence stand in the way once he spotted the donkey, who was in a neighboring field outside the reserve. Now, their offspring, Ippo, is the only one of her kind in Italy. With a distinctive brown body and the head of a donkey, she also sports black-and-white striped legs, making her one of the rarest–and most visually interesting–animals in the world.

    The zebra is well-known for not being too selective when it comes to mating; ponies, horses, donkeys, they’re all potential mates. Interestingly, the way their offspring is named depends on which animal belongs to which sex. For instance, if the zebra had been a female and the donkey a male, Ippo would have been called a donkra.