๐ฆ Animal world ๐ Mammals
The donkey
๐ In short
The donkey is a patient, strong animal related to the horse and the zebra, but smaller than a horse, with long ears. People have used donkeys to carry loads for thousands of years, especially on rough mountain paths. A baby donkey is called a foal.
๐คฉ Did you know?
- A donkey is about 1.2 meters tall at the shoulder.
- Many donkeys have a long dark stripe on their back.
- Donkeys sometimes live more than 30 years.
- The donkey comes from the African wild ass.
๐ Find out more
๐ Strong and patient
A donkey can carry heavy loads a long way, and copes with heat, thirst and little food better than a horse.
๐ Long ears
A donkey's long ears help it hear faraway sounds, and help its body get rid of heat in hot places.
๐ก A loud bray
The sound a donkey makes is called a bray: hee-haw! It's very loud, and another donkey can hear it from far away.
๐ฏ Careful, not stubborn
People say donkeys are stubborn, but really they're careful and clever: if a donkey senses danger it stops and won't move until it feels safe.
๐ธ More pictures
๐งฉ Test yourself
1 What do we call a baby donkey?
2 What do we call the sound a donkey makes?
3 Donkeys sometimes live more than ?? years.
4 Which picture shows โThe donkeyโ?
๐ฆ Discover more
๐ท Picture sources: Wikimedia Commons
- Adrian Pingstone ยท Public domain
- David Shankbone ยท CC BY-SA 3.0
- John Hill ยท CC BY-SA 4.0
- Nevit Dilmen (talk) ยท CC BY-SA 3.0
