Why can horses and donkeys interbreed?

Asked by: Jay Sandifer

They have trouble making sperm or eggs because their chromosomes don’t match up well. And, to a lesser extent, because of their chromosome number. A horse has 64 chromosomes and a donkey has 62. A mule inherits 32 horse chromosomes from mom and 31 donkey chromosomes from dad, for a total of 63 chromosomes.

How can donkeys and horses breed if they are different species?

Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two first-generation hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny, which is the offspring of a female donkey (jenny) and a male horse (stallion).

Why are a horse and donkey not considered the same species even though they can breed together to produce a mule?

A mule is the hybrid offspring of a female horse and male donkey. Because mules are sterile, they are not classified as a distinct species.

Can horses and donkeys cross breed?

A hinny is a domestic equine hybrid that is the offspring of a male horse (a stallion) and a female donkey (a jenny). It is the reciprocal cross to the more common mule, which is the product of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare).

Is it possible that horses and donkeys belong to the same species?

No, Horses and donkeys are two different species but belong to the same family Equidae and the genus Equus. They both have different numbers of chromosomes.

Why can’t mules have babies?

Most of the time (but not always) a person with an extra chromosome is sterile. Those mismatched chromosomes make it hard to make viable sperm and eggs. So mules are sterile because horse and donkey chromosomes are just too different. But they are alive because horse and donkey chromosomes are similar enough to mate.

Can a donkey breed with a cow?

It is well known that horses and donkeys do occasionally mate with cattle (e.g., see videos below). Such mixed matings are fairly common events on ranches and other places where these animals are likely to come into regular contact.

Why do horses fall after mating?

The most likely reason that mares lie down after mating is because they are overwhelmed and need to rest to bring their heart rate back down to normal levels. Stallions can be aggressive and hyperactive when courting and mating, and horses are socially sensitive creatures.

Can a jackass reproduce?

Apparently, it’s pretty rare for a male horse and female donkey (called a jenny, BTW) to hook up and produce offspring. But when it does happen, the result is called hinny. And offspring of either pairing are almost always sterile.

Why can’t mules breed?

A mule is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). A horse has 64 chromosomes, and a donkey has 62. The mule ends up with 63. Mules can be either male or female, but, because of the odd number of chromosomes, they can’t reproduce.

Why are zebras and horses considered different species?

Zebras are closely related to horses but they’re not the same species. They’re both in the Equidae family and they can even breed with each other. The offspring (zebroids) have different names dependent on the parents. A male zebra and female horse produces a zorse, and a female zebra and male horse produces hebra.

Are donkeys smarter than horses?

“Many people think – and I am one of them – that donkeys are smarter than horses,” she explains. “In fact, they are very intelligent creatures who don’t scare as easily as horses. When threatened, they tend to freeze, which is probably how they got the reputation of being stubborn.”

How can a mule have 64 chromosomes?

Mules result from the breeding of a male donkey with a female horse. Donkeys have 62 chromosomes, horses have 64, and mules have 63. Mules are sterile because their chromosomes cannot pair up evenly, and as a result they do not produce eggs and sperm.

Can mules have foals?

But a female mule in Colbran, Colo., has recently become a mother, and her owners are trying to figure out how it happened. In late April, Laura and Larry Amos discovered that a mule called Kate had a newborn foal. The Amos family runs a wilderness outfitter and owns a large herd of mules.

Is a burro and a donkey the same thing?

Donkey terms

Burro: A burro is the Spanish word for “donkey”. Hinny: A hinny is the result of breeding between a female donkey and a male horse. Jack: A jack is a term for a male donkey.

Are mules sterile?

But combined with the dissimilarities in the horse-donkey chromosomes, the end result is usually — but not always — sterile offspring. While there are no recorded cases of fertile mule stallions, there have been a few dozen cases of mule mares giving birth after mating with a horse or donkey.

Can horses mate with zebras?

A zorse is the offspring of a zebra stallion and a horse mare. This cross is also called a zebrose, zebrula, zebrule, or zebra mule. The rarer reverse pairing is sometimes called a hebra, horsebra, zebret, zebrinny, or zebra hinny. Like most other animal hybrids, the zorse is sterile.

What is a molly mule?

Despite their sterility, mules have male and female anatomy, thus, a female mule is often called a “molly mule” and a male, a “john mule.” “There is another not-so-common equine hybrid called a hinny,” Hoffman said. “This is made with a father horse and a mother donkey.

Can 2 donkeys reproduce?

Donkeys do reproduce. They just need more time than you’d think. They have low reproduction rates, but they can have babies. It’s mules, a mixture of horse and donkey, that can’t reproduce.

Why is a donkey called a jackass?

A jackass is just a male donkey.

This derives from the male donkey’s nickname “jack” paired with the original donkey terminology “ass.” Female donkeys are called “jennies” or “jennets,” but a female ready to breed is known as a “broodmare.”

Are mules and donkeys the same?

Donkeys are a different species than a horse, but in the same family. They were originally bred in Egypt or Mesopotamia around 5,000 years ago. Mules, on the other hand, are a cross between a female horse and a male donkey or “jack” (hence the word “jackass”).

Can a hinny be male or female?

A mule is produced when you breed a male donkey to a female horse, also known as a mare. A “hinny,” meanwhile, is produced when you breed a stallion, or male horse, to a female donkey.

Can a Zorse reproduce?

As with many other equine hybrids, a Zorse is born sterile and cannot reproduce. The only way to produce a Zorse is by breeding a Zebra with a horse. In Africa, Zorses are often bred as trekking animals to transport humans and goods.

What is a jack donkey?

A male donkey is known as a jack or jackass, a female is a jenny or jennet, and an immature donkey of either sex is a foal. Jacks are often mated with mares to produce mules; the biological reciprocal of a mule, from a stallion and jenny, is a hinny.