---
title: "What the sources say about the Donkey | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "53 claims from the Donkey profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/donkey-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/donkey/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Donkey (*Equus asinus*)

> 53 claims from the Donkey profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Donkey](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/donkey/)

## Equus asinus (ass). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Equus_asinus/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| hee-haw can travel up to 3 km | Donkeys use a "hee-haw" sound that can travel up to 3 km away. |
| A hee-haw that can travel up to 3 km | Donkeys use a "hee-haw" sound that can travel up to 3 km away. |
| Domesticated worldwide | Asses have also been domesticated worldwide, where they are commonly referred to as donkeys |
| with feral groups in the United States | Domesticated and feral donkeys in the Unites states are hunted by coyotes |
| Grasses, forbs and browsing plants | donkeys consume a variety of grasses, forbs, and browsing plants in the United States |
| Not Evaluated | Asses have also been domesticated worldwide, where they are commonly referred to as donkeys (note: stats.conservationStatus. The page says asses have been domesticated worldwide and are called donkeys, so no Red List category applies. GBIF's Equus asinus Linnaeus, 1758 shows no threat status, checked 2026-09-29; not cited. The African wild ass (Equus africanus) is a separate Critically Endangered assessment and is not the donkey's. Precedent goat, domestic-cat: no IUCN reference.) |
| in the family that also holds horses and zebras | Family Equidae asses, horses, and zebras |
| They talk with their bodies, sounds and smells | They use their body, sound, and smell to convey feeling. |
| pinned back for anger, perked forward for alertness, one forward and one back for curiosity | Their ears can be pinned back to show anger, perked forward to show alertness, or one ear forward and one ear back to show curiosity. |
| A quick tail swish shows annoyance | They will use their tail to show annoyance by swishing it back and forth quickly. |
| Males also use calls to tell females they are ready to mate | The male will use the vocalization as a way to call to the females when he is ready to mate. |
| Donkeys use a "hee-haw" sound that can travel up to 3 km away | Donkeys use a "hee-haw" sound that can travel up to 3 km away. |
| Their hearing is good enough to detect these calls at such distances | These animals have a good sense of hearing that can detect these calls at such distances. |
| Males are very territorial | Males are very territorial |
| They bite rival males that enter | The males defending their territory will bite other males who pose a threat and have entered their territory |
| piles of dung mark the boundaries | They leave piles of dung to mark their territory boundaries. |
| A donkey stands 110 to 140 cm tall at the shoulder | Both African wild asses and domestic donkeys have a shoulder height range between 110 and 140 cm. |
| Mass is not often reported | The mass is not often reported |
| One study of five adult females averaged 320 kg | Piccione et al. (2008) reported the average mass of 5 adult females as 320 +/- 15 kg. (note: Quote's 'average' is the study's mean, stated as such in the claim.) |
| A newborn foal weighs 20 to 34 kg | The foal birth weight range is from 20 to 34 kg. |
| Small hooves help them cross rocky ground and keep steady footing in the mountains | They have small hooves that allow them to navigate around the rocky areas. It also allows them to have steady footing when traveling in the mountains. |
| They are herbivores | Donkeys are herbivores. |
| their molars are wide with blunt, shallow grooves that grind plants down | The wide shape and blunt, shallow grooves of their molars help grind up the material |
| A study of donkeys in the United States found them eating grasses, forbs and browsing plants as the seasons changed | Woodward and Ohmart (1976) found that donkeys consume a variety of grasses, forbs, and browsing plants in the United States during different seasons. |
| arrowweed and mesquite making up 50% of their diet | Arrowweed (Pluchea sericea) and mesquite (Prosopis) make up 50% of their diet. (note: Same paragraph as the Woodward and Ohmart (1976) study of US donkeys, so the sentence scopes it to that study.) |
| A typical herd holds one male and ten females | a typical herd contains one male and ten females |
| Donkeys form groups to reduce the risk of predation and help keep the young safe | Donkeys get into groups to reduce the risk of predation and to help keep their young safe. |
| donkeys investigate before reacting, then trot or gallop away if it is real | Donkeys mainly walk when they move around but, when threatened, trot or gallop away. When threats do occur, donkeys investigate the situation, before reacting, to determine if it is actually threatening or not. (note: ADW says donkeys 'mainly walk' when moving about; the sentence only claims the threat response, which the quote states unhedged.) |
| Donkeys now live with people worldwide | Asses have also been domesticated worldwide, where they are commonly referred to as donkeys |
| A female donkey carries her foal for about 370 days | The gestation period is about 370 days. |
| She usually has one at a time, and twins are rare | Females have one foal at a time but, on rare occasions, they can have twins. |
| A newborn weighs between 20 and 34 kg | Foals have a birth weight range of between 20 to 34 kg. |
| Farmers use them to protect other animals from coyotes, red foxes, bobcats and mountain lions | Domesticated donkeys are used as guard animals for livestock. Donkeys protect the animals from coyotes, red foxes, bobcats, and mountain lions |
| The donkey chases the intruder off or kicks it | by chasing or kicking the unwanted predator |
| A donkey's hee-haw can travel up to 3 km | Donkeys use a "hee-haw" sound that can travel up to 3 km away. (note: vibe.reason) |
| other donkeys can hear it that far away | These animals have a good sense of hearing that can detect these calls at such distances. (note: vibe.reason) |
| dangerLevel: Medium | Donkeys have been known to bite and kick humans. The majority of the injuries humans sustain from donkeys do not cause lasting damage. (note: stats.dangerLevel, task #986: can injure (bites, kicks), rarely seriously, which is Medium's definition word for word; Low would say harmless) |

## AnAge entry for Equus asinus. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Build 15, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Equus_asinus

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| the AnAge database lists about 165 kg for the species | Adult weight 164,998 g (note: 164,998 g is about 165 kg (AnAge, average adult weight, entry for the species).) |
| Donkeys have been reported to live up to 47 years, though claims of animals past 50 are doubtful | Donkeys, however, have been reported to live up to 47 years ... anecdotal reports of animals living over 50 years are doubtful. |
| weightKg: 165 | Adult weight 164,998 g (note: battleStats.weightKg, task #986: AnAge's species-wide adult weight; ADW's 320 kg is five adult females in one study. Both are Heavy (100 to 1000 kg), so the class does not hang on the choice) |

## Todd et al. (2022). The genomic history and global expansion of domestic donkeys. Science.

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abo3503

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| domesticated in Africa around 5000 BCE | supports a single domestication in Africa ~5000 BCE |
| A 2022 genome study of 207 modern and 31 ancient donkeys supports a single domestication in Africa around 5000 BCE | we constructed a comprehensive genome panel of 207 modern and 31 ancient donkeys, as well as 15 wild equids. We found a strong phylogeographic structure in modern donkeys that supports a single domestication in Africa ~5000 BCE (note: 2022 is the reference's year (Science, 2022).) |
| The animals then spread across Africa and Eurasia, and finally returned to Africa | followed by further expansions in this continent and Eurasia and ultimately returning to Africa |
| essential beasts of burden for long-distance movement, especially in semi-arid and upland country | Donkeys transformed human history as essential beasts of burden for long-distance movement, especially across semi-arid and upland environments. |
| donkey breeders produced giant bloodlines when mules were essential to the Roman economy and military | Donkey management involved inbreeding and the production of giant bloodlines at a time when mules were essential to the Roman economy and military. |
| In Africa, around 5000 BCE, in a single domestication | we constructed a comprehensive genome panel of 207 modern and 31 ancient donkeys, as well as 15 wild equids. We found a strong phylogeographic structure in modern donkeys that supports a single domestication in Africa ~5000 BCE (note: Figures and scope from the same quote; the FAQ's 'hundreds of living and ancient donkeys' is 207 modern plus 31 ancient (238).) |
| The same 2022 study found a previously unknown lineage in the Levant around 200 BCE that added ancestry to donkeys heading toward Asia | We uncover a previously unknown genetic lineage in the Levant ~200 BCE, which contributed increasing ancestry toward Asia. (note: 2022 is the reference's year (Science, 2022).) |
| Domesticated once, around 5000 BCE | supports a single domestication in Africa ~5000 BCE |
| going by the DNA of hundreds of | we constructed a comprehensive genome panel of 207 modern and 31 ancient donkeys (note: 'hundreds' = 207 modern plus 31 ancient, 238 donkeys.) |

## Bennett et al. (2022). The genetic identity of the earliest human-made hybrid animals, the kungas of Syro-Mesopotamia. Science Advances.

https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abm0218

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Cuneiform tablets from Mesopotamia record the breeding of prized equids called kungas for diplomacy, ceremony and warfare | Before the introduction of domestic horses in Mesopotamia in the late third millennium BCE, contemporary cuneiform tablets and seals document intentional breeding of highly valued equids called kungas for use in diplomacy, ceremony, and warfare. |
| DNA from a 4,500-year-old equid buried in Syria | Morphometric analysis of equids uncovered in rich Early Bronze Age burials at Umm el-Marra, Syria ... We sequenced the genomes of one of these ~4500-year-old equids |
| kungas were first-generation hybrids between female donkeys and male Syrian wild asses | We conclude that kungas were F1 hybrids between female domestic donkeys and male hemippes (note: The same abstract glosses hemippe as Syrian wild ass: 'an ~11,000-year-old Syrian wild ass (hemippe)'. F1 = first generation.) |
| the earliest evidence of hybrid animal breeding | thus documenting the earliest evidence of hybrid animal breeding |