Feral Donkey

 

Characteristics

Donkeys are known to have a keen sense of curiosity and a reputation for stubbornness, but that’s because of their sense of self-preservation. Donkeys are hard to startle and aren’t that easy to force, or frighten, into doing something. Donkeys are independent in thinking and will reason, but they base their decisions on their own best interests or safety. Donkeys can trust you to protect them if you have trained them enough by words and actions. Donkeys also learn what we want them to do if we take time to show them.

 

Behaviour

Donkeys are very stubborn, and this has been attributed to a strong sense of self-preservation. It is considerably difficult to force or frighten a donkey into doing something; it perceives danger for whatever reason. Their confidence, once earned, can make them willing and companionable partners and very dependable workers.

 

Diet

Straw: Straw is good for a Donkey diet because it is high in fibre and is low in sugar.

Hay: Hay is a really good thing to feed a donkey but not when the hay is mouldy because the Donkey might have allergies.

Silage: Silage should not be fed to a Donkey because it is low in pH and fibre but in high protein.

Water: Donkeys need water to live and without it the Donkey will not be living much longer.

 

Predators

Predators of the donkey include dogs and coyotes. But it is also the other way around because the donkey can protect the sheep’s and goats from getting eaten or taken by dogs and coyotes. Although the donkey’s predators are dogs and coyotes they can still protect themselves.

 

Distribution and Habitat

Feral donkeys are common in the arid zones of central, Western and the Top End of Australia. This is because of their large capacity to allow environmental conditions. Donkeys are able to produce a baby every year, suggesting that the population can increase rapidly.

 

Abundance

Feral donkeys are from Africa but they were brought to Australia to serve as pack animals to assist in 1866. Western Australia and Northern Territory is where they were particularly useful. Then they were transported due to toxic plants that affected them in the early 1900s, and because of that they released into the wild, where they formed feral herds. Until this day the Katherine region of the Northern Territory is where the feral donkeys are found.

 

Impacts

Feral donkeys are a threat to the natural environment. They have increased erosion of soil and waterways, spread of weeds, trampling of native vegetation, biodiversity reduced by consumption of native seedlings, sedimentation of waterways and water bodies, destruction of infrastructure, and competition with native species and domestic cattle for resources.

 

Management

Feral donkeys can be managed using a number of techniques:

• Aerial platform controlled shooting

• Trapping or mustering feral donkeys so that they may be sold for commercial purposes. This is expensive and time consuming.

• On-ground culling

• Fertility control