Donkey Donkey The donkey or ass ("Equus africanus asinus") is a domesticated member of the horse family, Equidae. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African wild ass, "E. africanus". The donkey has been used as a working animal for at least 5000 years. There are more than 40 million donkeys in the world, mostly in underdeveloped countries, where they are used principally as draught or pack animals. Working donkeys are often associated with those living at or below subsistence levels. Small numbers of donkeys are kept for breeding or as pets in developed countries. A male donkey or ass
Equus (genus) each other both visually and vocally. Human activities have threatened wild equine populations. The word "equus" is Latin for "horse", and is cognate with the Greek ἵππος ("hippos"), "horse", and Mycenaean Greek "i-qo" /ikkʷos/, the earliest attested variant of the Greek word, written in Linear B syllabic script.; compare the alternative development of the Proto-Greek labiovelar in Ionic ἴκκος ("ikkos"). The genus "Equus" was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is the only recognized extant genus in the family Equidae. The first equids were small, dog-sized mammals (e.g. "Eohippus") adapted for browsing on shrubs during the Eocene, around