When donkey farmer Kristine Turner bought a pet zebra from Germany, she had doubts about anything happening between her new 6-year-old pet and her field of 9 donkey’s. But miracles do happen and when nature took its course a few years later, Zippy Britain’s second zebra-donkey crossbreed, was born.
Zippy was welcomed to the farm on October 2nd to mama Zebra Ziggy, and daddy donkey Rag, on a farm in Somerset, England. This is the second zebra-donkey hybrid in the UK, the first being Zambi, born on a donkey sanctuary. The ‘zonkey’ is very rare due to the fact that they can rarely breed unaided. Animal hybrids typically have birth defects like heart problems or dwarfism, making this little zebra hybrid a near miracle, and Kristine couldn’t be happier.
Since a few years had passed since she had bought Ziggy the zebra and she had brought other donkeys into the herd, Kristine assumed that the chances of her getting pregnant were slim, and also very rare. “I’ve always wanted it to happen, but a few years ago I gave up hoping. Rag and Ziggy have been on the farm for years. ” Kristine says.
Not to mention it was a completely natural process. The animals simply wandered the same field, Kristine didn’t orchestrate anything between the two. Plus, Rag the dad (who made the move), had already been bred four years before.
Zebra crossbreeds, or zebroids, are a more common animal hybrid since they are so closely related to horses and donkeys. They are said to have been around since the 19th century and even observed in some of Charles Darwin’s writings.
“Last month, I opened up bedroom curtains, which look onto the farm, and I saw this little foal sitting up staring my way. I was in complete shock. I ran downstairs in my PJs, put on a coat and went over to see him.” This complete surprise turned out to be one happy surprise, taking on the brown coloring of his dad, with black and white stripes sprinkled in from his mom.
Despite the unlikely chances of a pregnancy happening in the first place, Kristine didn’t even know Ziggy the zebra was pregnant.
“Ziggy has always been a bit porky, so I didn’t even notice she was getting any bigger. It was a complete surprise.”
Zippy is now one happy and healthy little foal, complete with a wild personality, yet learning to calm down enough to be groomed like his mom and dad. According to Kristine, his name fits his personality. “He’s half wild animal so he’ll nip and kick me a tiny bit, but in a cheeky way. Then he’ll dash off.”
Ziggy is also shaping up to be a great zonkey mom and hardly lets Zippy out of her sight. Kristine says the pair is always together, wandering the farm and doing everything together, while dad tends to keep out of the way.
Kristine is over the moon about her new addition to the farm. “I’m just so happy. Zippy is just a little miracle.”
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