Conchita

As we were hiking along the trail through the Sierra Nevada, Jens and I got to talking about donkeys and mules. They are two very different animals, but I didn't really know much about them. A donkey is different from a horse as you probably know. The visual differences are obvious. Donkeys are smaller, have longer ears, a short coarse mane and a tail similar to a cow with a tasseled switch. But what is the difference between a mule and a donkey? I knew that mules are larger, but Jens told me that a mule is an offspring between a horse and a donkey. We didn't know much else, and as I became a little curious I had to do a little more research.

Donkey, mule, burro, ass, jackass, hinny or moke?

Burro is the Spanish word for donkey but is also commonly used in the Western Hemisphere when referring to donkeys. A male donkey is a jack and a female donkey is a jennet. Ass, jackass and moke (which is British slang) are also referring to donkeys.



A mule on the otherhand is an offspring of a male donkey and a female horse, while an offspring of a female donkey and a male horse is referred to as a hinny. Both hinnys and mules are sterile. Mules are said to be smarter and less stubborn than a donkey and live longer and are more sure footed than a horse.



Famous donkeys and mules.

So who is Conchita? Conchita is the name of Juan Valdez' mule. Yes, she was a mule, not a donkey. Our all time favorite donkey is of course Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. And then there's the donkey in Shrek that goes by the name Donkey (not terribly original, but it seems to work). My personal favorite is Francis the talking Mule that was played by Molly. I used to love those movies. :)