2007-02-19 18:42:21 · 19 answers · asked by purplerain 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
A DONKEY is an animal in its own right
and a mule is a cross bred and cannot reproduce
it is bred from a donkey and a horse.
2007-02-19 18:46:57 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
A donkey a species of equine with Latin name Equus asinus, domesticated from the Nubian wild *** (this word, starred out in the final version is a correct scientific name and not offensive) from North Africa Equus africanus which is sadly now extinct.
A mule is a cross between a donkey stallion and horse mare and has the body of a horse with the head and tail of a donkey. As it has a set of chromosomes from each of 2 different species it cannot make reproductive cells (gametes). Males are always sterile but on rare occasions females make a few gametes from just one set of chromosomes and may have low fertility.
You can get the reverse of a mule, called a hinny or jennet - horse stallion x donkey mare which would have the body of a donkey with head and tail of a horse. These are rarer though because it is the female parent that limits the size of the offspring and so they are smaller and also the physical and behavioual characteristics inherited from the mother are less desired by people breeding pack animals.
2007-02-20 09:17:42 · answer #2 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A mule is a cross between a horse (female) and a donkey (male).
The reverse, the offspring of a (male) horse and a (female) donkey, is called a hinny. Mules and hinnies are almost always sterile. Since 1527 there have been more than 60 documented cases of foals born to female mules around the world.
2007-02-20 02:47:39 · answer #3 · answered by Mr. Sir 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Donkey + Mare = Mule
2007-02-22 21:41:56 · answer #4 · answered by Lara Croft 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A donkey is a seperate species and can reproduce, but a mule is a crossbreed between a donkey and a horse, which makes it unable to reproduce.
Thats the most basic difference. You could say taht a mule is like a tigon or a liger.
2007-02-20 03:05:48 · answer #5 · answered by uniciron 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Breeding a male donkey to a female horse results in a mule
2007-02-20 02:48:10 · answer #6 · answered by ranwyld 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The donkey or ***, Equus asinus, is a domesticated animal of the horse family, Equidae.
In its common modern meaning, a mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. The reverse, the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey, is called a hinny. The term "mule" (Latin mulus) was formerly applied to the offspring of any two creatures of different species – in modern usage, a "hybrid".
2007-02-20 04:50:42 · answer #7 · answered by paul13051956 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A mule is a hybrid ..a cross between a male horse and a female donkey(as opposed to a hinny which is a cross between a female horse and a male donkey).Mules and hinneys are infertile and so cannot breed themselves.
2007-02-20 04:17:39 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, a donkey is the smaller cousin of a horse. A mule is the hybrid of a male donkey and a mare.
2007-02-20 02:54:10 · answer #9 · answered by Swamy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The donkey is a herbivorous animal and the smallest member of the horse family.
*** is the correct term for the animal known as the donkey, burro, or jackstock. The young of a donkey is called a foal. A young male is a colt and a young female a filly. The correct name for a female donkey is jennet and the correct name for a male donkey is jack.
A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. A hinny is the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey.
2007-02-20 02:49:25 · answer #10 · answered by richard_beckham2001 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋