Talk:Donkey

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Contents

[edit] Donkey Sounds

One of the most distinctive and memorable attributes of a donkey is ther vocalizations. Someone with articutate writing skill should try to document it for all to see, with more than just the familiar "hee haw". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.171.0.139 (talk) 18:41, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] More pictures

Here are some more pictures of a wild donkey spotted in the Mojave Desert in Southern California. Unfortunately the photos are too distant to be of use in the article.

Xspartachris 06:36, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Food

Provide clean, fresh water in clean watering troughs everyday. Feeding time and method should be consistent daily for the donkey. little food each time to prevent or minimise the risk of digestive upsets. regularly working donkey with no adequate grazing time should be provided with some concentrate feeds to supplement its basal roughage diet. allowed a rest period after a very large feed. If necessary donkeys can be fitted with rope-mesh muzzle to stop them eating when they are working. Many donkeys will not eat or drink when in harness. need more google dankeys on google. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Puttputt12 (talk • contribs) 23:25, 11 April 2008 (UTC)


[edit] Intelligence

Donkeys are *not* "reputed to be ... of low intelligence", as claimed in the article. They are generally acknowleged to be smarter than horses, and with a more well-developed sense of self preservation, hence the behaviors that sometimes lead people to call them "stubborn". It is difficult to force or frighten them into doing things that they see as against their own best interests. But stubborn or not, they are quite bright, friendly, sociable, and eager to learn.

Hi. I linked this page from wiki-jp. Regretfully I can't put a new link to wiki-jp. Sorry.

[edit] Life Expectancy?

This is not mentioned on the page. I think it is 40 years? 204.120.207.2 19:59, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

I am very curious, too! --Gaborgulya (talk) 12:48, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Gestation period?

Lets see how long it takes for a goon to mess this up again...

Please be kind :(

I own many donkeys, i don't like the way you talk about them. I like the comments others made, cause you really need help.

[edit] All "head-down" photos but one

Is there any particular reason why all but the last photo show the animal munching on the grass? It'd be nice if some of these breed photos showed one in a "head-up" position. slambo 16:17, Feb 24, 2005 (UTC)

Simply because those of us who take the trouble to find and upload pics only have head-down pics. In other words, we upload what we can find! - Adrian Pingstone 20:02, 12 September 2005 (UTC)
And... grazing is a common behavior of the domesticated donkey. I work at a zoo, and as long as they have hay, a donkey will graze to its heart's content. We would not be giving an accurate representation of the donkey if all the photos were head-up shots. Morganismysheltie 02:04, 6 July 2006 (UTC)
Here's a heads up photo you can use. http://www.positrakusa.com/downloads/mike/mobear/twins.jpg 204.120.207.2 19:57, 1 February 2007 (UTC)



okay here is a joke what has five heads a computer get it

[edit] Question height and weight

What is the weight and height of the typical burro or donkey? Or if that isn't meaningful perhaps weight (aproximate) or a height of several different sizes.

Why does this article say that donkeys are between 10 and 14 hands in LENGTH? They are between 10 and 14 hands in height. Length is not a common size criteria. 64.217.182.126 04:52, 6 March 2007 (UTC) cmsix

[edit] Asinine

Why does Asinine redirect here? I never considered it to come from 'ass' and even if it did it's not mentioned in the article.

"Asinine" *is* the proper adjective to mean "of [the] donkey(s)", from Latin "Asinus" ("donkey") and "Asininus" ("asinine"). 62.48.171.17 18:24, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Conservation status

I have changed this from vulnerable to secure. Donkeys are numerous and bred as domesticated animals. If I am missing something, please correct me Psychofox 23:46, May 13, 2005 (UTC)

What you are missing is the limited understanding of certain Americans who think that nothing exists outside of their own cramped little worlds. You see, there's a massive controversy right now about feral Burros (Donkeys) and Horses living and multiplying in the American West. There's some deal of argument (which the burro and feral horse activists are currently winning - there’s actually a law protecting these animals, regardless of whether they’re native or not {and make no mistake, there is no consensus as to their nativity}, which is, in itself highly unusual) about whether these animals should be tolerated in an area of the world in which they are not native, though these animals’ advocates will run around screaming, hands up in the air, heads fully ablaze that they are both, beyond any shadow of a doubt native. They’re currently trying, and have been for some time (understandably unsuccessfully), to get both Mustangs and the feral Burros listed as endangered species in the United States (they shouldn't worry though - I'm sure Australia would gladly give them some of theirs!), even though there are probably millions of domesticated Horses and Donkeys in the world, many not even an hour’s drive from these feral populations. They don’t understand that the IUCN categorizations here listed refer to global populations. Either that or that particular author was referring to the two remaining wild Wild Ass (Equus africanus) subspecies, which are both in serious danger of extinction, but I laugh hysterically at that since the author pretty much implied they didn't realize Donkeys and Wild Asses belonged to the same specy. You can't talk Equines anymore without stepping over feral horse protectors, so I suppose we'll know when the author speaks up.

[edit] Removal of images

The page is getting a bit crowded and it might be worth removing some of the images. Not being familiar with donkeys, I am not knowledgable in what constitutes an archetypal donkey so I have left this for someone else... Thanks!!! --postglock 16:17, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)

This doesn't make sense to me. The page has five images, well-spaced down the page. Other articles often have many more than five images. Why should any be removed! - Adrian Pingstone 20:02, 12 September 2005 (UTC)
I agree with Arpingstone; I think the images are helpful and not overwhelming. -- Lisasmall 02:33, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Etymology of Donkey

Could it be an onomatopoetic representation of the braying sound? [unsigned]

You are correct that this is one of the hypotheses. This hypothesis is now covered under "Etymology of the name" by the bullet "*Perhaps of imitative origin", which cites AHD4. — ¾-10 14:21, 12 October 2007 (UTC)


Another etymological source I heard cited by Stephen Fry on his program 'QI' is that it is a contraction of the Spanish "Don Quixote", published in 1605 (vol. I) and 1615 (Vol. II). Whether this means the BBC's production team have some evidence beyond the timing of the puclication and the appearance of this new name for the Ass, does someone know? DaveArdent (talk) 02:06, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Jack & Jennet

These two terms are not explained before their use. -- de:Benutzer:RokerHRO 08:38, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] 'hung like a donkey' comment is out of place

This looks like a 14 year old boy's comment (apologies to 14 year olds with a sense of dignity). If the comment has to stay at all, can we get the meaning across without the lurid references to dimensions?

I was actually thinking of adding "hung like a donkey" (and I'm not a 14-year-old!) when I saw this because the phrase is very common in the UK - on comedy shows and in the tabloid media. I can see how it could be deemed out of place, but it must be worth a footnote somewhere, if not here. Gretnagod 21:31, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Gestation Period?

Lets see how long it takes for a goon to mess this up again... Please be kind:( I own many donkeys,i don't like the way you talk about them. I like the comments others made, cause you really need help

[edit] Columbus's donkeys and their mule descendants

"The four males and two females brought by Christopher Columbus gave birth to the mules which the Conquistadors rode as they explored the Americas." This really needs to be corected. No male donkey ever gave birth to anything! And female donkeys don't give birth to mules ... female horses give birth to mules. So neither male nor female donkeys "gave birth to the mules."

[edit] Any MORE vandalism?

Next person to vandalize this page gets shot.

Well, hopefully banned. --Thematrixeatsyou 02:24, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Why?
That's why. --Thematrixeatsyou 09:21, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Come on, this page needs to be semi-protected. --thematrixeatsyou 03:57, 4 November 2006 (UTC)
It gets vandalized way too much. The vandal bot can only do so much. Morganismysheltie 00:01, 4 January 2007 (UTC)
I have requested that this page be semi-protected. (see: Requests for Page Protection) Morganismysheltie 00:23, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

That's ridiculous; I hate these vandals...we are trying to make good, legitimate articles, and they come along and ruin it. (curses under breath)--NitemareDragon 22:57, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

2007-10-10—This thread is reprised at #This article needs editing protection. — ¾-10 22:16, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Where to put this nice story?

An old man, a boy and a donkey were going to town. The boy rode on the donkey and the old man walked. As they went along they passed some people who remarked it was a shame the old man was walking and the boy was riding. The man and boy thought maybe the critics were right, so they changed positions.

Later, they passed some people that remarked, "What a shame, he makes that little boy walk." They then decided they both would walk! Soon they passed some more people who thought they were stupid to walk when they had a decent donkey to ride. So, they both rode the donkey.

Now they passed some people that shamed them by saying how awful to put such a load on a poor donkey. The boy and man said they were probably right, so they decided to carry the donkey. As they crossed the bridge, they lost their grip on the animal and he fell into the river and drowned.

The moral of the story?

If you try to please everyone, you might as well kiss your "ass" good-bye. --ThG 23:34, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

Enough with the donkey jokes... (rolls eyes) this stuff is also vandalism, you know?

--NitemareDragon

[edit] Donkey Kong reference under Trivia

"There are no actual donkeys in the video game Donkey Kong; the term 'Donkey' was used to indicate that the main character was stubborn."

http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/donkeykong.asp

"Shigeru Miyamoto, the game's inventor and the one person who unquestionably knows the origins of the name he chose, has repeatedly affirmed that he used the word 'donkey' to convey a sense of stubbornness and the name 'Kong' to invoke the image of a gorilla."

The reference to the book that this conclusion was drawn from is on the Snopes site.

I'll sencond that point. Fair comment. Zesty Prospect 14:59, 26 March 2007 (UTC)


The Donkey Kong page states two possible reasons, one one previously mentioned and the product of miscommunication. Celebraces 03:00, 11 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Human-centric

I gotta say that the article seems a bit human-centric. There is very little about the donkeys themselves and lots about how we humans make use of them or feel about them. In fact just about half is taken up with a discussion of the connotations of the words "donkey" and "ass". Steve Dufour 04:01, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Donkey vs. Burro

The "Burro" section does not explain why the different words. AFAIK, this is just a SW US synonym for "donkey" / "jackass" / "ass". (Spanish "Burro", BTW, means simply "donkey" etc.) 62.48.171.17 18:30, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

In the USA "burro" is used for donkeys that came our way by way of Mexico. Those that came directly from Europe are called "donkeys" or "asses". In Spanish any donkey is a "burro". I made some changes in the article. Steve Dufour 13:58, 26 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Jackass

For some reason, searching for jackass currently redirects to this page. I think it should either direct to the MTV show Jackass, or the disambiguation page. Right now the page for jackass the TV series is difficult to get to.

24.17.160.64 11:30, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

I agree; "jackass" should send people to the TV show, with a note at the top sending people interested in the animal here. Steve Dufour 14:00, 26 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Revert

Reverted various stupid vandalism. Watch this page for more. Xolom14:25, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Pronounciation

"originally, "donkey" was pronounced to rhyme with monkey"

huh? How is it pronounced then? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 80.126.153.114 (talk) 13:00, 1 March 2007 (UTC).

Donqué. -- toresbe 17:09, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The Cross On The Donkey's Back

I think it is extraordinary that donkeys have crosses on their backs. This is referenced briefly in the article (under Religion) but can anyone shed more light on this? E.g. why is it so (it seems unlikely that this gives the donkey any better survivability characteristics!)? Robinson weijman 07:51, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] anonymous unable to edit

I haven't got a user name so I can't edit the page. In this paragraph in "Religion and myth" under "Cultural references"

In Genesis the King of Shechem (the modern Nablus), killed by Jacob's sons, is called "Hamor" - showing that at the time this animal was held in high enough esteem that it was no disrespect for royalty to use its name as their first name. (See Dinah,Shechem, Animal names as first names in Hebrew).

it is missing a space between "Dinah," and "Shechem" near the end.

One of these days I might actually get around to getting a user name . . .

anonymous 09:16, 17 May 2007 (UTC) (Almost forgot to say, since that is the one thing I would change if I could, the article is in pretty good condition. Congratulations!)

Y Done, thanks for spotting it! -- lucasbfr talk 09:21, 17 May 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Vandalism

This article has been vandalised several times since the restriction on new / unregistered users was removed. I suggest replacing the restriction. Robinson weijman 07:31, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Since there were no comments (but plenty of vandalism), I've replaced it. So this page is now protected against alterations by new or unregistered users. Robinson weijman 08:56, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
OK, that did not work and was removed by DumbBOT. I only added a template (thought that was enough). Now I've made a request for it to be replaced. Robinson weijman 12:29, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
Again, this page has been vandalised by sad people with nothing better to do. Why not make this page permanently protected? Robinson weijman 19:53, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Esel (german) vs. (painters) easel (english)

In the Etymology section it is stated:

The incorporation of horse into sawhorse, referring to a wooden frame which supports work in progress, can be compared to the donkey-related etymology of the English word easel, from the Dutch ezel and German Esel. In both languages, the word refers to both the animal, and to an easel (as in painter's easel) as well.

I don't know about the dutch language, but to my best knowledge (I'm native german) in german the word "Esel" does mean "donkey", but not "painters easel". Also, german wikipedia and german wiktionary as well as [dict.leo.org] (one of the most extensive english-german dictionaries online) don't mention such a meaning of the word "Esel". Therefore I request verification of the statements in the last sentence of the section quoted above. tnx 84.148.103.122

[edit] Suggested edit

I suggest that the non-word "advocator" (describing Robert Green in the "History" section) be replaced by "advocate," which is almost certainly what the writer had in mind. 129.97.79.144 13:24, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Done.LorenzoB 06:15, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] History

It is my understanding that it was the availability of the automobile (and pickup truck, usually a Model T Ford) that supplanted the prospectors' use of burros in the early 20th century, rather than the introduction of the steamtrain as stated. Railroads didn't penetrate the remote rugged terrain that was the primary focus of individual prospectors. I'll attempt to locate references on the topic. 01:45, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

My name didn't show on the post. LorenzoB 01:47, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] This article needs editing protection

As of 2007-10-10, it's still not protected and it's still getting vandalized constantly by every middle-school kid with a brain problem. I will go investigate how to request protection. — ¾-10 22:17, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

I'll request semi-protection now. Chase me ladies, I'm the Cavalry 22:19, 10 October 2007 (UTC)
Thanks. I seconded your post at AfP. — ¾-10 22:29, 10 October 2007 (UTC)
Hurray! Semi-protected. — ¾-10 00:37, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Can the protection be reinstated and extended?

We got one week of break from idiots and then back to the same old thing of having to revert a dozen vandalism edits a day. I suggest that we protect this for six months straight. Get idiots used to the idea that every time they come here to vandalize, it is protected. Have them find that over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again, they get denied. (They aren't quick learners.) I'll go request. — ¾-10 01:52, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

Requested at WP:RFP. — ¾-10 02:01, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Great Article

Great Discusssion --Stayfi 19:27, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Bayeux Tapestry

The bottom border of the Bayeux Tapestry is thought to contain the earliest know depiction of a yoked donkey. The image is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Tapisserie_agriculture.JPG 70.20.228.140 (talk) 10:20, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

Ah but the Standard of Ur, about 2000 years earlier, contains images of donkeys or onagers hitched to a wagon. Ancient Greek art also shows Donkeys and mules. Captions in commons not always correct! (grin). Montanabw(talk) 11:07, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

Donkeys were one of the trade items used for dumb-bartering, they were very useful for the Wangaran miners. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Connie957 (talk • contribs) 21:59, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] NY TImes

some information here with some different and new information http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/science/25donkw.html?ref=science —Preceding unsigned comment added by GoDelusion (talk • contribs) 04:41, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Proverb and idiom: 'donkey's years'

The original and correct form of the British colloquial expression, meaning a long time, is probably 'donkey's ears' - this both being rhyming slang for 'years' - as in a long time - and in itself meaning 'long' (donkeys having very long ears). It seems the original expression became muddled with its equivalent 'years', and its pronunciation changed so that it incorporated the latter, losing its rhyme; this has left 'donkey's years' in standard use. Of the two expressions in this context, 'donkey's ears' is certainly found in print earlier than 'donkey's years': the former first appears in 1916, in Edward V. Lucas' novel, Vermilion Box; the latter first appears in 1923, in an American newspaper, the Bridgeport Telegram.--Thomasbroc (talk) 09:13, 7 May 2008 (UTC)