AnimalsThe donkey is descended from the African wild ass and is built for dry, rough country. It is sure-footed, hardy and can carry heavy loads, which has made it a working partner for people for thousands of years. Its loud call is known as a bray.
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Equus asinus
- Group
- Mammals
- Diet
- Herbivore (eats plants)
- Lives in
- Worldwide, with people
- Habitat
- Farms and dry country
- A young one is called
- foal
- A group is called
- drove
- Conservation status
- Domestic animal
How it is classified
Scientists sort living things into groups within groups. Reading down, each step is a smaller group, ending with the species itself.
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Chordata
- Class Mammalia
- Order Perissodactyla
- Family Equidae
- Genus Equus
- Species Equus asinus
Other members of the family Equidae on this site: horse, plains zebra.
More distant relatives in the order Perissodactyla: Indian rhinoceros, white rhinoceros.
Classification follows the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Other reference works arrange some groups differently. How classification works.
Is it in danger?
The donkey is a domestic animal, kept and bred by people. Domestic animals are not assessed for the Red List of threatened species.