While different species of the
Equidae family can interbreed, offspring are almost always sterile. Nonetheless, horse/donkey
hybrids are popular for their durability and vigor. A
mule is the offspring of a jack (male donkey) and a
mare (female horse). The much rarer successful mating of a male horse and a female donkey produces a
hinny.
Asses were first
domesticated around 3000 BCE
[3], approximately the same time as the
horse, and have spread around the world. They continue to fill important roles in many places today and domesticated species are increasing in numbers, but the African wild ass and another relative, the
Onager, are
endangered. As "
beasts of burden" and companions, asses and donkeys have worked together with humans for centuries.
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