A zebroid is a hybrid of a zebra with a horse, pony, or donkey. As a rule, male zebras and females of other equines are used to obtain these hybrids.
According to official data, one zebroid lives in Russia now.
Zebroids are usually more similar in shape to the mother and have paternal stripes on the legs or partly on the neck and torso. If the mother is roan, chubar or piebald, in most cases this suit is passed on to offspring. Zebra-donkey hybrids are characterized by a belt on the back, on the belly and a “cross” on the shoulders.
Zebroids, like other equine hybrids (mules and hinnies), are bred for practical use - as mounts and pack animals. In Africa, they have advantages over horses and donkeys because they are resistant to tsetse bites and are more trainable than zebras. Zebroids have existed for a long time, they were mentioned in Darwin's notes. Zebroids are more wild than pets, difficult to tame, and more aggressive than horses.
Such bizarre creatures are rarely born into the world. Ippo was born in a nature reserve in Italy near Florence in 2013. This is a zebroid that looks like a typical donkey, but its limbs are painted with beautiful black and white stripes, like a zebra.
Ippo was not deliberately bred: the male zebra jumped the fence to get into the territory of the donkey. There is simply no other such zebroid. Ippo can be proud of himself, he is truly one of a kind.
And here is another bright representative of a zebroid named Eclyse:
She is the daughter of the white horse Ulysses and the zebra Eclipse. The parents met at a ranch in Northern Italy, where Eclipse was temporarily transported to avoid closely related mating with other zebras in Stuckenbrock. Of the zebras, only her sister was there, but there were many horses. As a result, in 2006, upon returning to Germany, Eclipse had a zebroid.
The name zebroid was formed from the combination of two words: zebra and hybrid.
Here are examples of such crossovers:
If you cross a zebra and a horse, the result is a zorse (Zorse, derived from the English words "horse" - "horse" and "zebra" - "zebra".
A zebra crossed with a donkey results in a zonka (Zedonk or Zonkey is a combination of the English "zebra" - "zebra" and "donkey" - "donkey").
In the case of crossing a zebra and a pony, a zony is obtained (Zony is a combination of the English "zebra" - "zebra" and "pony" - "pony").
Zebrinni is a hybrid from a female and. Zebrinni has a second name - zebra. The appearance of the animal is like a horse, but there are stripes like a zebra.
There are more than 300 breeds of horses and 3 types of zebras, in connection with this, the appearance and colors of hybrids can vary greatly.
Zebras are much rarer than zebrules, another hybrid of the same animals whose mother is a horse and whose father is a zebra.
Appearance of zebrinni
Stripes can be all over the body or on separate parts. Most often, stripes appear on the limbs, they are also not uncommon on the neck, but on the kruppe they are least often located.
Zebrinnies tend to have short, coarse coats. The color varies from black to brown. The darkest are usually the tail and mane.
The head of these hybrids is large, the muzzle is elongated. The eyes are large with long eyelashes that protect the eyes from debris. The ears are upright. The limbs are slender and long with black, or in rare cases, with light hooves. Zebrinnies can see very well in the dark.
Negative traits of zebras
Zebrinnies received wild character traits from zebras: they are stubborn, difficult to train and not easy to deal with. In this regard, many breeders and riders refuse these hybrids, preferring ordinary horses with a submissive character.
In addition, zebrinni are not capable of producing offspring. To maintain a population of hybrids, it is necessary to keep the original animals - zebras and horses, which complicates the breeding process.
Pros of Zebrinni
Although zebrinnies are difficult to train, there are entire communities of connoisseurs of these animals, there is even an international association dedicated to these hybrids.
The advantage of zebras is their resistance to diseases common to horses and zebras. From horses, hybrids often get a reddish color, such animals are called "golden zebras".
The number of these hybrids is gradually increasing, this is due to their endurance, in comparison with horses, and more docile nature, in comparison with zebras. In this connection, they are often used as pack animals, instead of zebras, which have a rather aggressive character. In addition, they can cover much greater distances with luggage than horses.
Features of the lifestyle of hybrids
Pregnancy in zebrinni lasts 11 months, most often there is 1 baby in the offspring. Like other hoofed cubs, in zebras the baby gets up in the first hour after birth. After a few hours, he already walks slowly behind his mother.
Although small in size, baby zebrinnies have very long legs, so they are almost the same height as adults. The foal is weaned from its mother at 5-6 months. The life expectancy of zebras is 15-30 years.
These hybrids feed exclusively on food of plant origin, obtaining from it the substances necessary for life. They have a well-developed sense of taste, thanks to which they are excellent at understanding grains and herbs. In addition, zebrinnies eat leaves, flowers, berries and fruits. They do not eat poisonous plants, but if there is a shortage of food, they can eat toxin-containing plants.
Zebrinni breeding work
Zebrinni breeding was started in Africa, the purpose of this work was to get a horse that would not be afraid of tsetse flies. It was decided to use zebras as producers, since flies almost never attack them.
Zebroid is a hybrid of a zebra and any other related animal: a horse, a donkey or a pony. As a rule, for such crossing, male zebras and females of another equine species are chosen. Most often, the outline of the body of the cubs is similar to the mother, but their paternal stripes. The result of this crossbreeding are very cute zebroids.
Such bizarre creatures are rarely born, so the Italians in the reserve near Florence can arrange a real holiday in honor of this: Ippo was born there. This is a zebroid that looks like a typical donkey, but its limbs are painted with beautiful black and white stripes, like a zebra .
It is noteworthy that Ippo, who, by the way, is now in good health and in excellent spirits, was not deliberately bred: the male zebra jumped the fence to get into the territory of the donkey. Volunteers of the reserve should be doubly gratified also because in Italy there is simply no second such zebroid. Ippo can be proud of himself, he is truly one of a kind.
There aren't too many like him in the world. In Russia, there is also only one, and he appeared in 2011 in Volgograd with the Moscow circus troupe, which now, which is now successfully touring with him.
And here is another bright representative of a zebroid named Eclyse:
She is the daughter of the white horse Ulysses and the zebra Eclipse. The parents met at a ranch in Northern Italy, where Eclipse was temporarily transported to avoid closely related mating with other zebras in Stuckenbrock. Of the zebras, there was only her sister, but there were many horses
As a result, in 2006, upon returning to Germany, Eclipse had such a creature.
Other equally interesting types of zebroids:
Scientists call the zebra the most ancient representative of the order of equids, and also very primitive. The closest relatives of the zebra are the donkey and the horse.
I must say that about 54 million years ago, the first representatives of this order, the ancient ancestors of donkeys, zebras and horses, lived on our planet. These animals were much smaller than modern horses and differed greatly from them.
The detachment of equids took 52 million years to acquire its final form, after which it divided into groups and spread throughout the globe. The living conditions of each group gradually changed, the groups moved away from each other, and as a result of this isolation of groups, we now have different species.
Thus, the various species of equids living near us today, among which horses, zebras and wild donkeys can be named, represent the result of 54 million years of evolutionary development. Man tamed many species, but the zebra escaped such a fate - this is due, first of all, to the poor endurance of this animal - the zebra moves quickly, but also quickly gets tired. In addition, it is an animal with character. But outwardly a very nice striped horse!
Probably, it was the pleasant appearance and speed of movement that influenced the decision of a person to domesticate a zebra in a very unusual way - by crossing it with its relatives - other representatives of the equids order. The result of this experience were interesting animals with unusual names. All of them have a common name - zebroids, which comes from a mixture of the words "zebra" and "hybrid".
For example:
As a result of crossing a zebra and a horse, a zorse is obtained (Zorse from the English words "zebra" - "zebra" and "horse" - "horse").
A zebra plus a donkey equals a zonk (Zedonk or Zonkey from the English words "zebra" - "zebra" and "donkey" - "donkey").
If you cross a zebra and a pony, the result is a zone (Zony from the English words "zebra" - "zebra" and "pony" - "pony").
The owner of the most famous zonk (a hybrid of a zebra and a donkey) was Sir Sanderson Temple from Lancashire. His sonk knew how to pull a cart along the alleys, which he did until his death.
The mother of this adorable creature was sent on vacation from a German safari park (Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock) to a ranch in Italy, where she ended up in the company of several horses and zebras. A zebra named Ulysses laid eyes on a beautiful horse, and when she returned home to Germany, the fruit of a holiday romance was not long in coming. The zebra horse was named Eclyse,
Whether it was love at first sight, between Hapmann's zebra mare and the horse's brown and white stallion, even as time passed, remains a mystery to people. However, it is absolutely clear that this love affair was not without consequences. The result of this unusual connection is called Eclise ( Eclyse). She was born in 2006 in Italy. A short time later, Eclise found a new home at Stukenbrock Safari Park.Now the zebroid is a local attraction and is very popular with park visitors.
Zebroid with unusual coloration
The difference between "Pfebra", or Zebroid, as the specialist would rightly say, is her unusual body pattern. Usually Zebroids are completely striped. However, in the case of Eclise, the features of the zebra are limited to only the head, part of the back and sides. The rest of the Eclise is white.
The park hopes that soon Acklise will have a boyfriend and everyone will see the result ... But according to experts, Zebroids are not capable of reproduction.
