A zeedonk in South Africa
Colchester Zoo's zeedonk, named Shadow
A zeedonk (also called similar names including zebrass, zebronkey or zenkey) is a mixed breed animal, a cross between a zebra and a donkey. Donkeys are closely related to zebras and belong to the same horse family. Zeedonks are very rare. Colchester Zoo in Essex claims to have produced the first zeedonk in 1971. A zeedonk is still exhibited at Colchester, but they now have a policy of preventing interbreeding and so will not be breeding more.
In South Africa they are called a zonkey and are fairly common where zebras and donkeys are found in close proximity. Like mules, however, they cannot breed, due to an odd number of chromosomes.
See also: zorse, mule
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