Rare donkey-zebra mix born in Xiamen Haicang Safari Park

Updated: 05 Jul 2011
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A rare hybrid cross of a donkey father and a zebra mother was born in Xiamen Haicang Safari Park on Sunday.
 

The zedonk is in good health and has bonded well with his zebra mother.
 
A rare hybrid cross of a donkey father and a zebra mother is attracting attention in the Xiamen Haicang Safari Park after he was born on Sunday, reports Xiamen Daily.
 
The "zedonk" has black and white stripes prominently displayed on his four legs, but his brown body haired looks more like a donkey, said one of his keepers at the park.
 
He is said to be in good health and has bonded well with his zebra mother, who raises her powerful hind legs to attack any animal or zoo keeper trying to reach the baby animal.
 
The Xiamen Haicang Safari Park keeps its only zebra and 3 male donkeys in the same enclosure. Zoo keepers didn’t know about the mate until the zebra got pregnant the last July, leaving it hard to identify the real father among the 3 donkeys.
 
It’s the fourth reported case around the world, and Prof. Wang Yiquan from Xiamen University said donkeys and zebras are different species having the same chromosome which makes a hybrid offspring biologically work, but the romance would not likely happen if the two animals awere not kept in the closed breeding environment together.
Translated by WOXnews.com  
  
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Comments Area ( Total Comments: 4 )
jojoba Commented on 09 Jul 2011
to bluecatx00,there is a safari park at HAICANG, I used to take my kids there before, but that was 8 t0 10 years ago i guess, i dont knw if it is still open
bluecatx00 Commented on 05 Jul 2011
Oh, they actually have a nice article about this on Wikipedia, looks like this kind of hybrid is called a zebra hinny, or donkra, NOT zedonk.
I like the zorse (father zebra, mother horse)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebroid
bluecatx00 Commented on 05 Jul 2011
Like a centaur, Wonderchief? I don't think it would be possible.

mother horse + father donkey = mule
But mules can't have babies of their own since they are sterile. I wonder if that one will be sterile as well.

This looks more like a gimmick to attract people. I didn't even know there was a Safari park in Haicang. What else do they have?
rmwonderchief Commented on 05 Jul 2011
But when will they finally make a half man, half horse breed?