Over the last couple of years Donkeys have been hit very hard. People can no longer afford to keep them and many donkeys have been abandoned and left to die in forests and bogs.
The Donkey Sanctuary has taken in over 14,000 donkeys and has helped many more through its work around the world. Donkeys are very sensitive animals; they are friendly, calming, and playful (their temperament is more like a dog’s than a horse’s). The make friendships for life, need companionship (or they get depressed) and show great bravery protecting other animals. Want to know more about Donkeys?
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Hee Haw!
A donkey's bray can be heard over 3 kilometers away but a donkey can hear another donkey's bray 60 miles away.
In the wild, donkeys can reach top speeds equaling zebras and horses.
Donkeys are often fielded with horses due to the perceived calming effect they have on nervous horses. If a donkey is introduced to a mare and foal, the foal will often turn to the donkey for support after it has left its mother.
Donkeys are used as guard animals for goats and sheep against the threat of coyote attack. They are also used to protect cows while calving.
No one knows where the word Donkey came from.
"Miniature donkeys possess the affectionate nature of a Newfoundland, the resignation of a cow, the durability of a mule, the courage of a tiger, and the intellectual capability only slightly inferior to man's."
- Robert Green
Donkey's milk is well tolerated by humans with a cow's milk allergy and is useful in the treatment of human immune-related diseases and in the prevention of atherosclerosis.
Donkeys have an incredible memory.
They can recognize areas and other donkeys they were with up to 25 years ago.
During World War I a British stretcher bearer, John Simpson Kirkpatrick, serving with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, used a donkey named Duffy to rescue wounded soldiers, carrying them to safety in Gallipoli. There is a statue of John Simpson Kirkpatrick and his donkey in his home town
A herd will choose the strongest donkey to be their leader, even if domesticated.
In the wild the lead donkey would stay to ward off an attack by a wolf or other predators in order to allow the rest of the herd to escape to safety. Donkeys are the only animal of their size who will stand up to a Lion! Watch here!
Donkeys in a herd will groom each other in the same way as monkeys and chimps do.
Donkeys are very affectionate animals and enjoy the companionship of people. They need companions or they will become very depressed.
President George Washington imported the first new donkeys of the United States.
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