This is Ippo the zonkey, a lovely two-for-one hybrid of the zebra and the donkey. Ippo was born just four months ago at an animal reserve in Florence, Italy.
Her parents’ unusual tryst occurred when her father, Martin the zebra, jumped the fence at his enclosure and entered an enclosure housing endangered Amiata donkeys. In the enclosure, Martin met Giada and, twelve months later, little Ippo was born!
Hybrids like Ippo are very rare. They combine various traits from both parent species – their overall appearance is more like that of the donkey, but they have striped legs and tummies and a wilder temperament than that of the donkey.
Unfortunately, like mules, hybrids like Ippo are often infertile because of different numbers of chromosome.
However, there shouldn’t be any significant health issues that would prevent Ippo from living a long and fulfilling life. Given her unique story and appearance, she will probably be making a lot of new friends at her animal reserve in no time!
Zebroids like Ippo carry traits (physical and personality-wise) from both parents. Based on the handful of zonkies in the world, these rare creatures tend to have the overall look of a donkey with the striped legs and wild nature of a zebra.
They are also usually infertile due to an odd number of chromosomes disrupting a key process in reproduction. It’s still unclear as to whether Ippo will be able to bear offspring, but she can live a healthy and full life, nonetheless.
Read more at the Animal On World category.
