Zebroid: what is it like, a child of two different species? (7 photos)

Meet the zebroid - a hybrid of a zebra and any other related equine animal: horse, donkey or pony





A pessimist's glass is half empty, and an optimist's is half full. The story is similar with zebroids. You can look at them as excellent animals with many advantages, or you can see them as simply spoiled horses. But which option is closer to reality?



If you look at the animal through dark glasses, then its shortcomings are through the roof. A zebroid is a horse/donkey crossbreed with a zebra. And the problems begin from this moment. Due to the large difference in the structure of chromosomes, embryos are able to develop, but males are absolutely infertile, and females can only give birth by miracle. Therefore, it is impossible to create a stable population of zebroids, which means that there is no selection or control over the quality of the breed.



- Mom, how did you get me? - Well, you can’t tell it in a few words...

But selection for zebroids is very necessary. The appearance of the animals is simply terrible. If one of the parents is a horse, then the result is the same horse, only with sloppy black stripes. And if the parent is a donkey, then the foal’s fur will be decorated with chaotic light spots, which can occupy a significant area of the body.



The zebra donkey Eklis has spots so large that they cover almost his entire body!

Zebroids also have problems with character. Zebroids are angrier and more aggressive than horses, They require a lot of socialization and training takes longer. They are much less tolerant of people and are more difficult to saddle or harness. In addition, the animals are very strong, which, given their character, becomes another disadvantage.



But if we change the lenses in the glasses to pink ones, the animal will appear in a completely different light. Yes, zebroids are not capable of reproducing, so there can be no selection. But this doesn’t bother the mules! We've been using them for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. And the exotic color rather helps the animal and attracts the attention of potential owners!



Yes, it is difficult to argue with the fact that zebroids are more obstinate, but they are much more serviceable than zebras. You can’t even put a regular saddle on the latter! In addition, zebroids are resistant to tryposomatosis. Hundreds of horses die from these single-celled parasites, because an effective treatment for the infection has not yet been developed.



These worms are trypanosomes. They cause sleeping sickness, which kills not only horses, but also people.

It turns out that the truth is somewhere in the middle. Zebroids are definitely not good enough to displace real donkeys or horses. But in Africa and other regions with a low level of mechanization and an abundance of mosquitoes, they can replace horses in transporting goods and plowing fields.