Donkey: Animal behaviour and problems.

General information

Who does not know them from travelling down south, the unmistakable grey animals. Be it from vacations in Sicily or Greece. Or from contacts in the Valais. They are said to be stupid and stubborn, the donkeys. That's what people say. And it is for this reason that these animals get a beating and lack of understanding since a long time. There is hardly a creature who gets less understanding from the human beings than the donkey. The fact, however, is that his simple needs and his endurance, his will to survive under most awkward conditions, his tireless effort as pack animal,

draught animal and riding animal in almost impassable grounds is truly exceptional. Everything that feral donkeys have learned and developed thousands of years ago in ways of a particular behaviour in an absolutely hostile environment, continues to live in the house donkey. For the benefit of human beings who are not very capable of learning. There are also very positive pictures all around donkeys. As companions of St Nicholas who every year comes out of the deep woods to see the children. Or on the way as pack donkey on dusty streets and, in the south, particularly in poor and inhospitable regions, as riding animals for natives.

Social behaviour

Donkeys usually live alone or, instead of living together with animals of the same species, they live with sheep, cattle or goats. The bad habit of donkey owners in southern countries to tie donkeys individually to stakes goes against these natural creatures' nature. A group of donkeys comprises different parent families, namely mares with their mostly female progeny. Colts form colt groups and adult animals keep a distance. The impression of a compact herd arises from the fact that most of the activities are carried out jointly: Pasturing, resting, going to the watering place. Donkeys have a big repertoire of social behaviour patterns. These serve to preserve the basic structure. When mares are horsing, rivalry among the adult stallions breaks out openly. With violent attacks the most experienced stallion tries to keep rivals away. There is a hunting, a pinching and a biting until the rival takes his heels. Sometimes, while fighting, all of a sudden colts, who reach their sexual maturity at the age of 3 to 4 years, come to their move. Colts still enjoy a special status and are more or less tolerated by the parent families.

Behavioural disturbances

Shying, kicking, biting or destroying the fittings are in most cases a result of keeping the animals in ways not appropriate to their species or of handling them badly. Also the stubbornness they say of donkeys is not a disorder at all. It rather shows intelligence, because donkeys consider an action from all angles before they do something that could possibly harm them. Donkeys are intelligent and quick in learning!

Man-Animal communication

Donkeys are intelligent and quick in learning. One should aim at taking the position of a "boss animal" without losing any more time and talk to the donkey a lot. If your words are short, clear and consistently the same, the donkey will soon understand what you want to convey. Praise him with a calm and clear voice and say "no" vigorously if he wants to do something you don't agree with. His body posture expresses his actual mood.

Animals "talk" to their fellow species by body posture, position of their tail, facial expression, vocalization and the like. If a human being takes the position of friend and pal and substitute for an animal of the same species, then he must try to somehow make up for the great lack. The best way to do this is to talk calmly with his pet. Just the way he would talk to another human being. Animals are extremely quick in learning and understand within a very short time the meaning of a word or a pitch.

Undesirable behaviour

If a donkey escapes from the pasture, this is the pet owner's fault because the fence was not secure enough. If he is kicking, tupping, arching his back or continuously bellowing heart-rendingly, there are reasons for it. Maybe he kicked out of sheer love of life without paying attention to the fact that the human being was standing behind him. Or maybe he was not brought up in a consequent way and was for instance not taught to stand still.

Mood barometer

It is interesting to observe donkeys in a group, how gestures, facial expressions, position of the ears, head and body posture in certain situations are to be understood, that they do not perform a special function or blaze a trail for a particular statement. Ethologists talk for instance of tolerant or intolerant behaviour patterns or of evasive, retreating and submissive reactions. It is easy to tell the difference between a donkey full of the joys of life and a donkey in a bad mood. A donkey owner will, as time goes by, be able to interpret for instance the position of the ears. Ears placed straight on the head means disaster. Ears directed attentively to the front means increased curiosity. Tossing and turning joyfully on the floor means pleasant pelage care etc.

Psychology of animals

In order to be able to better understand the donkey and his species-specific nature it is advisable to study closer the behaviour of his feral ancesters, i. e. to read books about them. Although domesticated since a long time and partly having become feral again, the nature of the donkey as an animal of inhospitable surroundings who is living in small and loosely tied families, hardly changed. If we are able to discern the natural needs of the animal and act accordingly, we may approach him much easier and speedier. This way we also learn to realize when it is opportune to demand something and to get one's own way or when it is better to restrain from imposing one's will on him. The donkey is a very special character who has his own will and who thinks over something twice before he proceeds to action.