Taigan Zoo in Southern Crimera Welcomes Zonkey Named Telegraph

The Taigan Zoo in Southern Crimea announced the arrival of a zonkey named Telegraph.

The newborn foal has dark brown color on the head and body resembling a donkey, while the legs has stripes like that of a zebra. The zonkey or zebroid is a rare zebra-donkey hybrid that is not product of intentional breeding.

The zookeepers at the private zoo that is located near Simferopol noticed that the mother zebra was not happy in her enclosure and often felt lonely. Based on the advice of the zoologists they moved the zebra with several other hooved animals, reports the Guardian.

It is there that the zebra got attracted to the donkey and their union ended in the happy event - birth of Telegraph that is named after the local newspaper that recently celebrated their fifth anniversary.

"Born last week, Telegraph is very popular with visitors who can watch him romping around with his mother," according to zoo director Oleg Zubkov.

The zoo community consider the cross-breed between zebra and donkey as non-compatible. "Such things don't happen in civilised zoos, but can occur at private zoos or on farms," said Anna Kachurovskaya, a spokeswoman for Moscow zoo. "This sort of marketing is not justified or scientific ... zoos are for preserving wild species, that is one of their most important goals."

Telegraph alone is not a product of such love affair between two different animals. Last year, northern Mexico Zoo Reynosa were thrilled with the arrival of Khumba - born of a zebra and an albino donkey. Also, a zonkey named Ippo was born in Italy that became a huge media sensation as he was also not a product of intentional breeding. He was born at the wildlife center for neglected animals. Apart from this, zonkeys are also found in other parts of the world like China, Germany and Georgia.