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In April 2020, the conservation group Sheldrick Wildlife Trust made a charming announcement: a zonkey, or zebra-donkey hybrid, had been born at Chyulu National Park in Kenya. According to the conservation group's announcement of the birth, the foal's mother wandered out of Tsavo East National Park during spring 2019 into a nearby community, and joined up with a heard of domestic cattle. She stayed there for weeks. But once the story hit the news, conservationists were asked to intervene. The mare was sedated and moved to her new home at Chyulu National Park, where she was frequently spotted at a watering hole, taking advantage of a salt lick. But in the early months of 2020, she was seen with an unusual-looking foal tagging along. As Sheldrick Wildlife Trust put it: According to the conservation group, zonkeys are a rare hybrid between a zebra and a donkey, hypothesizing that the zebra had probably mated with a donkey in 2019 while she lived with domesticated animals in the community outside the park. The zonkey combines the sturdy body of its donkey sire and the striped legs of its zebra mother, which makes for a striking creature. While it should otherwise lead a normal life, zonkeys are mules, meaning that it will be unable to successfully breed once it reaches maturity.
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