What family do donkeys belong to in zoology?

Donkeys also have a very long history in our country. In China around 4000 BC during the Bronze Age of the Yin and Shang dynasties, donkeys began to be domesticated in the Shache area of Xinjiang, and from the Qin dynasty onward they gradually entered the interior from northwest China and India, where they were regarded as rare and precious livestock. During the Three Kingdoms period, there was also the anecdote of Zhuge Jin and the donkey. So what family do donkeys belong to in zoology? And how do you raise donkeys?

I. The family and genus of the donkey

The donkey belongs to the order Perissodactyla within the class Mammalia, and to the family Equidae and genus Equus. Horses and donkeys both belong to the genus Equus, but they are not the same species. Donkeys and horses look very similar, but donkeys are much smaller than horses. Donkeys are mostly grayish-brown and are not as mighty and imposing as horses. They have a large head and long ears, a somewhat narrow chest, and very strong resistance. Donkeys have a very gentle temperament and were mostly used as draft animals in ancient times, but they were also used for military purposes.

There are many breeds of donkeys. It is generally believed that the African wild ass is the ancestor of the modern domestic donkey. Its coat color resembles that of the domestic donkey, being bluish-gray tinged with brown, its bray is the same as that of the domestic donkey, and its ear shells are relatively long. Donkeys can be divided by body size into large, medium, and small types. China's five excellent donkey breeds are the Guanzhong donkey, Dezhou donkey, Guangling donkey, Biyang donkey, and Xinjiang donkey. These regions have also produced many snacks made from donkey meat, such as donkey meat fire-cakes and donkey meat soup.

II. Raising donkeys

The donkey-raising industry is a component of traditional animal husbandry. It is shifting from providing auxiliary power for agriculture toward producing meat and hides, and is rapidly developing from small-scale, low-profit operations to medium-scale, high-profit ones. When raising donkeys, as long as you do a good job with immunization and keep the donkey pens clean and dry, maintain appropriate lighting, ventilation, and stocking density, supply feed for meat donkeys, and ensure sufficient clean drinking water, donkeys generally rarely get sick. For more specific donkey-raising techniques, you still need to undertake relevant study, ask relevant experts for their opinions, and investigate whether the local climate is suitable for raising donkeys.

That is all we will say about donkeys. I believe more friends are not interested in donkeys themselves, but are more interested in the snacks derived from donkey meat. Friends who have the opportunity can try some snacks made from donkey meat when traveling.