Rare and Beautiful Zonkey – It’s Here at Last
It has finally arrived. The rare and beautiful Zonkey we’ve been waiting for. What is a Zonkey, you ask? It’s a cross between a zebra and a donkey, which is considered extremely rare because zebra and donkeychromosomes were not thought to be compatible.
The unusual cross-breed made its debut at the Reynosa Zoo in Tamaulipas, Mexico on April 21st. The animal is named, “KHUMBA.” (Have you seen the animated Disney film called, “Khumba”? It’s about a young zebra that is missing his stripes and trying to fit in to his world. It’s very cute.)
There’s a romantic story behind this too. Khumba’s mother, a zebra named Rayas, and his father, a blue-eyed albino donkey named Ignacio, used to visit each every afternoon. Eventually, Rayas became pregnant. The rest is indeed history!
Though rare, Khumba is not the first Zonkey. Ippo, a zonkey born in Italy, became a huge sensation — and tourist attraction — when he was born in Florence last year. Ippo was spawned after his dad, a zebra, jumped over a fence into an enclosure housing donkeys.
The rare and beautiful zonkey mixed breeds can also be found China, Japan, and the United States.
Her own animal experience is vast, having raised and rescued Alpine Goats, Chickens, Turkeys, Vietnamese Pot Bellied Pigs, Turtles, Raccoons, Cats, Dogs, and even an Opossum and Bearded Dragon.
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Well that’s different! It’s cute thought lol I didn’t think it was possible to cross-breed between a donkey and a zebra either.
Oh, it’s sooo cute! Such a weirdo, but at least he’s remarkable 🙂
Aww! It’s so sweet!
OMG, I can’t not read your animal posts! This zonkey is incredibly adorable. I hope he is healthy with the genetic cross. I wonder what his health concerns are because of it.
How wonderful and unique! Very cool to see!
I’m visiting you from The Ultimate Blog Challenge. I can’t remember reading about the Zonkey in Florence, so was intrigued when I saw the title of your post. Definitely cute!!!