Little Donkey
Little Donkey
From the Bible to Eeyore -there are many famous asses -and this Sunday 18th April we have two special donkey friends joining us for our EGGStra Special EGGstended Easter Event! We’ve teamed up with Kelly’s Donkeys to give you the opportunity to meet Danny and Samson , two adorable soft-nosed donkeys. When you arrive -here’s a few things you can look out for.
Ears
One of the first things you might notice when meeting a donkey is their very large ears. They have evolved to survive in hot and arid environments. The large ears can help them to cool down in very warm weather, bringing lots of blood near to the skin’s surface, and help them to hear things from far away.
Eyes
Whereas we have eyes on the front of our head, donkeys have theirs on the side. This is because they are a prey species and eyes on the side allow them to see almost completely around them. Particularly useful when trying to spot predators. The colouring of their fur can also allow them to blend in with quite arid environments, allowing to avoid the keen eyes of predators.
Diet
Donkeys are herbivores, meaning they feed on plants. This means they mainly make use of incisor and molar teeth in order to cut, crush and grind. They have evolved to feed on tough foliage and so their adult teeth will constantly grow from the wear as they graze throughout the day.
Hooves
It might be surprising to hear that donkeys are part of a group of the only living animals, including zebras and horses, to have one toe on each foot! Each toe ends in a hoof which is in fact like their toenail. Some scientists think that this single toe has allowed animals such as donkeys and horses to run faster than their ancestors, who had more toes.
Tail
Most people will have heard of the classic birthday party game ‘Pin the tail on the donkey’, but did you know what they use it for? Outside all the time, especially in dry areas, donkeys can be very attractive to flies and so they can swish their tail about to keep them at bay. An inbuilt fly swatter is a very handy feature to have!
So if you head on down to our Eggstra Easter Donkey Day this Sunday 18th April, you can meet Danny and Samson and check out all their cool features and let us know what you’ve learnt!