There are a number of names which you will hear when it comes to donkeys, and today we are going to take a deep dive into some facts about our gorgeous little friends. The words donkey, ass, burro, mule and jackass may all sound confusing but in reality there is a simple explanation behind it.
Sadly there are some burros which need our help and that is why places such as ISPMB have been set up in the USA, which seeks to give these poor animals the help and the support which they need.
Breaking it Down
To give you the simple breakdown of those words which have just spoken about, here is the skinny. The word ass is the same as donkey, they are called this because of their Latin name which is ‘asinus’. A Jackass is just a male donkey, the boys are nicknamed Jack, and the girls are nicknamed Jennets. A burro is the Spanish word for donkey, but in the English-speaking world we use the term mores for wild donkeys, which the aforementioned charity helps with. And finally we have the mule, which is the result of a male donkey impregnating a female horse which results in a mixture of the two.
How Much do Burros Weigh?
When it comes to burros, the wild donkey that is, they don’t tend to vary much in size, assuming the burro grow in the same conditions. When it comes to donkeys however we see a much broader range of weights and heights because this is based more on how they are bred and what human interaction they have had.
Broadly speaking however the burro will generally grow to around 125 centimeters, this is measured from their hoof to their shoulder. In terms of weight this can be anywhere from 400lbs to 500lbs. Interestingly the burro doesn’t change much in weight once they reach their top weight, even if conditions change. There are some donkeys which are called miniature donkeys but you very rarely see burros which are underweight or under size.
What Do They Eat?
In order to reach this optimum weight the burro is pretty strict with its diet. Most commonly they will graze on grass, and occasionally they may indulge in the odd shrub or a plant which they happen to find. What is fascinating about these creatures is that they actually utilize 95% of the food which they eat. This is because of the fact that food is often so scarce, so they have evolved to really get every inch out of the nutrients which they consume. On average burros will consume around 2722kg of food each and every year, according to The Global Invasive Species Database.
Burros really are fascinating creatures and there is so much to them which most people don’t understand. These animals are smart, inquisitive and they have amazing memories and hearing abilities. They may not look it, but burros are in fact far more interesting than we have probably given them credit for.
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