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Foal sired by zebra and donkey is talk of Barbados
AP
Friday, April 29, 2005
ST THOMAS, Barbados (AP) - Everyone knows it's a boy. But what is it? A zonkey? A deebra? That's the debate buzzing in Barbados since a zebra gave birth to a foal sired by a donkey.
Alex was born April 21, a milk-chocolate brown creature with the black cross of an *** on his back and the black stripes of a zebra on his ears and legs. His face looks more like an Arabian horse, with a distinctive black "V" patch on the forehead.
"It's really funny and a little bit freaky," said Natalie Harvey, a 29 year-old waitress. "I was stunned to hear about such a weird thing happening here."
While zebra hybrids are not uncommon, most Barbadians have never seen anything like Alex.
His mother, Allison, is one of two zebras brought to the Caribbean island from Botswana, in southern Africa, in the early 1990s. The other is George and both live at Highland, a six-acre (two-hectare) ranch where goats, sheep, ducks and donkeys roam free.
George, however, suffered a long illness, and Allison became friendly with the donkey.
"We knew she was with foal but were not sure who the father was," said Philip Atwell, the head of Highland ranch.
As for George, he seems to get along well with his rival's offspring, calmly sharing a feeding pan of corn with him one morning this week.
Now that Allison has shown she can reproduce, ranchers hope she will eventually mate with George, who is now healthy, Atwell said.
Although he is the talk of Barbados, Alex has been spared from too many gawkers. Highland, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the capital, Bridgetown, is fairly isolated, up a dirt road in hilly country.
Still, he's not out of mind.
It's easier for a zebra to give birth to a donkey than for either of these teams to score a goal!" a frustrated fan shouted during a scoccer match, drawing roars of laughter.
AP
Friday, April 29, 2005
ST THOMAS, Barbados (AP) - Everyone knows it's a boy. But what is it? A zonkey? A deebra? That's the debate buzzing in Barbados since a zebra gave birth to a foal sired by a donkey.
Alex was born April 21, a milk-chocolate brown creature with the black cross of an *** on his back and the black stripes of a zebra on his ears and legs. His face looks more like an Arabian horse, with a distinctive black "V" patch on the forehead.
"It's really funny and a little bit freaky," said Natalie Harvey, a 29 year-old waitress. "I was stunned to hear about such a weird thing happening here."
While zebra hybrids are not uncommon, most Barbadians have never seen anything like Alex.
His mother, Allison, is one of two zebras brought to the Caribbean island from Botswana, in southern Africa, in the early 1990s. The other is George and both live at Highland, a six-acre (two-hectare) ranch where goats, sheep, ducks and donkeys roam free.
George, however, suffered a long illness, and Allison became friendly with the donkey.
"We knew she was with foal but were not sure who the father was," said Philip Atwell, the head of Highland ranch.
As for George, he seems to get along well with his rival's offspring, calmly sharing a feeding pan of corn with him one morning this week.
Now that Allison has shown she can reproduce, ranchers hope she will eventually mate with George, who is now healthy, Atwell said.
Although he is the talk of Barbados, Alex has been spared from too many gawkers. Highland, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the capital, Bridgetown, is fairly isolated, up a dirt road in hilly country.
Still, he's not out of mind.
It's easier for a zebra to give birth to a donkey than for either of these teams to score a goal!" a frustrated fan shouted during a scoccer match, drawing roars of laughter.