Jakarta
Globe – AFP, November 2, 2013
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| Ippo, a three month old “zonkey”, a crossing between a zebra and a donkey, stands in its pen in a reserve in Florence, on October 11, 2013. (AFP Photo) |
Florence. An
act of love between Martin the zebra and Giada the donkey in the romantic
Italian city of Florence has produced a rare “zonkey” baby that is drawing
crowds to an exotic animal shelter.
Three-month-old
Ippo is already a star and the owners of the farm say they have received
requests for rights over his image, including one from a soft-toy company and
another from Disney to make a cartoon.
“It is very
rare that a zebra and a donkey mate and reproduce,” Serena Aglietti, the
daughter of the shelter’s owner, said at the site in central Florence, near the
city’s landmark monuments.
The
family-run Aglietti farm takes in animals rescued from circuses or owners who
treat them badly and houses a motley array of 170 animals including camels,
lamas and Vietnamese pigs.
Aglietti
explained that on one balmy night last year Martin — who was taken away years
ago from a zoo where he was being abused — jumped over the fence of his
enclosure.
The lusty Martin
used his snout to lift the latch on a stable door where the donkeys were being
kept.
There he
consummated his love for Giada, a rare Italian Amiata donkey brought to the
clinic to be bred.
No one
realized what had happened until 12 months later — the length of a donkey
pregnancy.
“We were
there at the birth. First the black hooves came out, then the striped legs. We
were amazed!” Aglietti said.
“He is
doing well. He is naughty but is very sweet with children, he is still on milk
but also eating carrots,” she said.
The unusual
sight at the farm brings hundreds of visitors, who compete for Ippo’s attention
and take pictures on smartphones.
“We were
curious to see this very sweet animal. It’s very good for children,” said
Patrizia, a 67-year-old visiting with her family.
Local
resident Fabrizio could not hide his shock.
“This is
the first time I see him. It’s not natural but nature made it possible,” he
said.
Ippo still
looks very much like a zebra-donkey mix — with the stripey legs of a zebra but
a donkey’s face.
However,
the previous handful of zonkeys around the world — including ones in China,
Japan and the United States — show that he could grow up looking more like one
than the other.
Ippo is
officially a “zebroid” — the name for a cross between a zebra and any other
equine.
“Zorse” is
the name of a pairing with a horse, “zebrule” with a mule. The zebra-donkey mix
is also sometimes known as a “zedonk.”
Aglietti
said that by November it will also be clear whether Ippo can reproduce or not
but no decision has been taken on breeding him with a donkey or a zebra — or
indeed some other animal.
“If he is
fertile, he will have the choice of who to mate with among all the animals we
have here.”
Agence France-Presse
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