# The difference between a mule and a donkey???? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 31, 2003, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012 "2003-12-31T21:46:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lillyflower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@lillyflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lillyflower)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012/1 "2003-12-31T21:46:21Z")
I know there is a difference between a mule and a donkey, can anyone tell me what it is šŸ˜• Thanks in advance, Lillyflower ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012/2 "2003-12-31T21:48:33Z")
A donkey is a domesticated ass. A mule is the (usually) sterile offspring of a female horse with a male donkey. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012/3 "2003-12-31T22:09:17Z")
There are (about) six species in genus _Equus_. Crossbreeds between them may or may not be fertile. The horse is _Equus caballus_; the domestic donkey and some wild asses are (usually classed as) _Equus hemionus_. Crosses between them ā€œmule outā€ ā€“ the origin of the term. There are other wild asses in a separate species, and the plurality opinion divides zebras into three species, distinguishable by the width and coverage of their markings. (Some hippologists place all the asses in the same species, erecting two subspecies, and all three zebras as separate subspecies of _Equus zebra_. Others regard domestic donkeys and their closest wild relatives as _Equus asinus_, leaving the others in _E. hemionus_, and some even regard Przevalskiā€™s horse (the sole living truly wild horses, as opposed to feral horses descended from formerly domesticated horses, as on Assateague Island) as a separate species.) ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012/4 "2004-01-01T03:30:18Z")
> [@](#): > > some even regard Przevalskiā€™s horse (the sole living truly wild horses, as opposed to feral horses descended from formerly domesticated horses, as on Assateague Island) as a separate species Only some? I didnā€™t think anyone considered E. przwalski to be the same species as E. caballus. It would be a hard position to support since the two species have different chromosome counts. ---
**Author:** ![Spooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Spooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spooky)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012/5 "2004-01-01T03:42:37Z")
Just FYI, a cross between a male horse or stallion and a female donkey is called a hinney. ---
**Author:** ![Ice97531](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@Ice97531](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice97531)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012/6 "2004-01-02T06:38:55Z")
a Hinney? Never heard that one beforeā€¦cool! ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012/7 "2004-01-02T06:46:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ice97531 \* > \*\*a Hinney? > Never heard that one beforeā€¦cool! \*\* To be exact, ā€œhinnyā€ (plural ā€œhinniesā€). And its mother (a female donkey) is called a jenny. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012/8 "2004-01-02T14:27:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Polycarp \* > ā€¦ and all three zebras as separate subspecies of _Equus zebra_. According to Stephen Jay Gould (I know he was an expert on snails and not a hippologist, but nevertheless) there is no such thing as a zebra (in the eassy _What, If Anything, Is A Zebra?_ included in the collection _Henā€™s Teeth and Horseā€™s Toes_, 1984). There are three striped horses in Africa, but they are not more closely related to each other than they are to horseys, donkeys or onagers. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012/9 "2004-01-02T14:55:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Floater \* > \*\*According to Stephen Jay Gould (I know he was an expert on snails and not a hippologist, but nevertheless) there is no such thing as a zebra (in the eassy _What, If Anything, Is A Zebra?_ included in the collection _Henā€™s Teeth and Horseā€™s Toes_, 1984). There are three striped horses in Africa, but they are not more closely related to each other than they are to horseys, donkeys or onagers. \*\* Yes, but the naming of species doesnā€™t follow strict genetic relatedness. If it did, humans would be classified more closely with chimps than chimps are with any other ape. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012/10 "2004-01-02T15:23:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Floater \* > \*\*According to Stephen Jay Gould (I know he was an expert on snails and not a hippologist, but nevertheless) there is no such thing as a zebra (in the eassy _What, If Anything, Is A Zebra?_ included in the collection _Henā€™s Teeth and Horseā€™s Toes_, 1984). There are three striped horses in Africa, but they are not more closely related to each other than they are to horseys, donkeys or onagers. \*\* > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Me_ > There are other wild asses in a separate species, and **the plurality opinion divides zebras into three species** , distinguishable by the width and coverage of their markings. ( **Some hippologists place** all the asses in the same species, erecting two subspecies, and **all three zebras as separate subspecies of Equus zebra**. (Bolding added) Gould, intelligently, reported the generally received opinion. Taxonomy is so much fun ā€“ ā€œlumpersā€ will attempt to consolidate things generally received as separate species into one; ā€œsplittersā€ will distinguish distinct species on the basis of rather picayune distinctions. Prior to the discovery of _Ardipithecus_, _Orrorin_, and other discoveries of the last few years, the majority opinion on human evolution placed all species into two genera: _Homo_, with only three species (_habilis_, _erectus_, and _sapiens_); and _Australopithecus_, containing everything else. But splitters like Ian Tattersall recognized at least three genera and a rather large number of species. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012/11 "2004-01-02T16:32:57Z")
Six drinks. Oh, wait, thatā€™s a dog and a fox. ---
**Author:** ![aaslatten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f14d63/32.png) [@aaslatten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaslatten)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012/12 "2004-01-02T16:57:31Z")
OK, while weā€™re on it, what is the difference between a donkey and a burro? Is a burro just a Mexican donkey, or just a smallish donkey? ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012/13 "2004-01-02T17:10:59Z")
Well, if you go to Tijuana you will see burros painted to look like zebras. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012/14 "2004-01-02T17:11:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by aaslatten \* > OK, while weā€™re on it, what is the difference between a donkey and a burro? Nothing, really. Itā€™s the Spanish word for donkey and though definitions of burro iusually spit out that it is " a small donkey used as a pack animal", itā€™s the same critter and that definition is not necessarily firm. Another definition is the BLMā€™s in the U.S., that refers to all feral donkeys as burros. - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012/15 "2004-01-02T17:41:48Z")
Are there actual differences between mules and hinnies? Offhand, Iā€™d figure the genetics would be similar regardless of which genes came from the father or mother. For that matter, why are mules so much more common than hinnies? Are they actually more common or is ā€œmuleā€ just used as a collective term for both animals? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012/16 "2004-01-02T17:57:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Little Nemo \* > \*\*For that matter, why are mules so much more common than hinnies? Are they actually more common or is ā€œmuleā€ just used as a collective term for both animals? \*\* Hereā€™s somebody else who tried to answer your question, and what she came up with: [http://www.ruralheritage.com/mule\_paddock/hinny\_whynot.htm](http://www.ruralheritage.com/mule_paddock/hinny_whynot.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012/17 "2004-01-02T17:59:27Z")
Oh, and for the record there, a stallion is a male horse, a mare is a female horse, a jack is a male donkey, and a jennet is a female donkey. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012/18 "2004-01-02T18:40:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Captain Amazing \* > \*\*Hereā€™s somebody else who tried to answer your question, and what she came up with: > > [http://www.ruralheritage.com/mule\_paddock/hinny\_whynot.htm](http://www.ruralheritage.com/mule_paddock/hinny_whynot.htm) \*\* To that list, I might add an economic consideration that she touched on, but didnā€™t make explicit. Note that Iā€™m WAGā€™ing, however, and this would be more valid reasoning back when the animals were commercially useful: A difficulty with raising a hybrid animal is that you have to maintain a pool of both parent animals, and breed or acquire them, too. Whichever parent animal you use females from you are going to have a much larger pool of. And consequently, more ā€œwrong genderā€ male offspring from maintaining that pool. Probably much easier to sell colts from the horse pool, which are of economic value in their own right, than getting rid of a surplus of male donkeys, which not as many people wanted for anything. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012/19 "2004-01-02T19:25:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Little Nemo \* > Are there actual differences between mules and hinnies? Offhand, Iā€™d figure the genetics would be similar regardless of which genes came from the father or mother. Not sure, but when lions and tigers (oh my!) are mated, it does depend. I forget which it is, but if the father is of one species, the offspring is often much, much bigger than when heā€™s of the other species. > [@](#): > > For that matter, why are mules so much more common than hinnies? Are they actually more common or is ā€œmuleā€ just used as a collective term for both animals? Generally, you want the mom to be the bigger of the two species if thereā€™s a significant size differnce. Woudl you mae a male Great Dane with a female chihuahua, (even though theyā€™re of the same species)? ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012/20 "2004-01-02T20:59:40Z")
Everyone should know the diffferenceā€¦ between their horse and their ass! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-mule-and-a-donkey/222012.md?page=2)