Farmyard Friday #7: Little Bad-Ass Donkey

It being the Easter season, it seems timely to discuss the humblest of God's creatures. I mean, it's obvious that donkeys are awesome. This could be seen as a mini-Farmyard Friday Fact, as it's plain truth. In some ways, they are like a larger version of a goat, and as has been seen before (Farmyard Fridays Fact #4), goats are phenomenal. On a purely personal note, an actual farmyard populated by goats and donkeys would be a dream come true.

But I digress.

It would be easy to simply regurgitate the fact that donkeys have crosses on their backs, and to cite the suggestion that this is something Jesus gifted to donkeys in thanks for having carried him into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (not for carrying his mother into Bethlehem when he was born - hang around for the Christmas special of Farmyard Fridays for that gem). This, however, would be lazy and Farmyard Fridays is not lazy.

As we've already seen from previous facts, many farmyard animals are governed by their relationship with predators. Pigs don't need to look up (Farmyard Fridays Fact #1) because their predators don't come from the sky, whilst goats have rectangular pupils (Farmyard Fridays Fact #4) because they need to see all the way around them. Donkeys, too, have predators. Wolves and coyotes are their natural enemies in the wild, and this has been carried over into their domesticated lives, and this natural aversion to canines has been harnessed in a very constructive manner by many farmers.

Whilst donkeys may seem quite mild-mannered, often used as companions to horses as they are much less flighty and more sensible, they do have a violent aggressive side, and this is most often displayed towards dogs. Donkeys can be used to guard flock animals, such as sheep, as they become very attached to their flock and will do anything to protect them from foxes and coyotes. A well-aimed kick from a donkey will kill a man, so dogs and foxes are an easy target for these guys.

You wouldn't really fancy your chances against this dude, would you?

And they don't just stop at foxes, as this link shows http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbPRjZ9nEVo That is one seriously bad ass donkey.

Farmyard Fridays Fact # 7: Donkeys will attack and kill dogs to protect a flock of sheep.

And here are the cute pictures as promised.

I now really really want a donkey.