Donkey

It is believed that the donkey originated from subspecies of the African wild ass in Nubia but little is known about its domestication. The earliest findings were made in Lower Egypt at a site at Ma'adi. Donkeys were popular pack animals as they could be easily led by any type of halter and could be trained to follow a route on their own. They increased the mobility of the local people as riding animals providing the opportunity to search for new pastures. Donkeys proved vital in developing the long-distance trade through the Egyptian deserts. In ancient Egypt large herds were held providing a source of meat and mares were kept as dairy animals with the milk used for drinking, as medicine and as a cosmetic. The animals proved also useful for farm work, treading seeds into the fertile Nile floodplain and threshing the harvest. Eventually donkeys spread to almost every part of the world. By the end of the fourth millennium BC they had reached south west Asia, by the second millennium BC Europe, by 1800 BC the centre of ass-breeding had shifted to Mesopotamia, and in 1495 donkeys arrived in South America on a supply ship for Christopher Columbus. In the 19th century donkeys played an important part in North American desert mining operations carrying water, wood and machinery to the mines, hauling cartloads of rock and ore out of mine tunnels and carrying the ore to the mills. They also turned the mills to grind the ore. At the end of the mining boom most donkeys were set loose and many still live freely in the American desert. More recently a new interest in the donkey developed using its guarding instinct as it can protect an entire herd of cattle or sheep from predators. Donkeys also gain interest in recreational activities and appear on stock shows where their stiff manes are often clipped short or shaved close to the neck.