"shuffle"? i didnt say "shuffle" him....i just thought it will be best for a modern zoo not to have those kind of hybrids. i do think that this zeonky or what ever you want to call him
will have a better life in a farm.
a modern zoo is an eductional place (rather than older method of just entertainment) and i do belive that there is no place in a descent zoo for those kind of hybrids such as ligers, tigons, zebra-donkey and others.
But isn't this education? They show how a hybrid may look like and then clearly state on the sign that they do not wish to create more hybrids and that it is not the philosophy of modern zoos.
This old Zeedonk is called(i think) 'Shadow' and its a 'she.' Though the sign says the births of Zeedonks at Colchester were 'accidental' three of them were born to the same donkey over a space of several years so they weren't that accidental as the parents could have easily been seperated.
Anyway, they are certainly interesting creatures. I never saw the father but I think it was a Grevy stallion and all the three Zeedonks(all females) had faint Grevy stripes on them. Each had a different ground colour-shades of brown or grey. Somewhere I have a photo of all three standing in a line.
It does seem a bit odd to display the last one in the Savanah exhibit but it is probably so she has company of other animals(zebras) an I don't see any harm in that.
I agree - leave it on display. It is educational, as school and university students studying biology can see a first hand example of a hybrid.
I would question the Latin on the label - Equus sp. suggests it is a full undescribed species (or they don't know what species it is). It should say Equus grevyi X Equus asinus, or Equus burchelli X Equus asinus (depending on what species the stallion was).
I would question the Latin on the label It should say Equus grevyi X Equus asinus, or Equus burchelli X Equus asinus (depending on what species the stallion was).
According to Colchester’s label, “the first known zeedonks were the result of an accidental mating between male zebra and a female Black Ass (donkey) at Colchester Zoo is 1983”.
Despite what the label says, the Colchester zeedonks were not the first known zebra x donkey hybrids. Many zebra x donkey hybrids were recorded before the Colchester animals; indeed King William IV presented both a mountain zebra x donkey hybrid and a Burchell’s zebra x donkey hybrid to London Zoo in 1830.
Moreover, the date 1983 is not even accurate for the first Colchester zeedonk. Annie P. Gray’s fascinating book “Mammalian Hybrids” includes a photograph of a hybrid between a male Grant’s zebra and a female black Arabian ass born at Colchester Zoo – and this book was published in 1972 – eleven years before the date on the Colchester label.
Annie P. Gray’s fascinating book “Mammalian Hybrids” includes a photograph of a hybrid between a male Grant’s zebra and a female black Arabian ass born at Colchester Zoo – and this book was published in 1972 – eleven years before the date on the Colchester label.
Even if Equus sp. was somewhat unhelpful, it is seemingly more accurate than the scientific name given to the animal when it was on Colchester Zoo's website .. Colchester Zoo
describing it as a whole species - "Equus zeedonkus"
