When you think about weird things that you can find down in the Los Angeles era I bet you never thought of a zonkey. That is, a cross between a zebra and a donkey. There's gotta be a lot of beer in the equestrian bar for donkeys and zebras to look at each other. If they do wake up in the same stall it's unlikely that anything permanent will come of their tryst.
But here is Mona Lisa, a zonkey, with amazing coloring:
Mona Lisa is the size of a zebra but has the low-hanging stomach and shape of a donkey. Her body is gray, but her ears and mane are black and white, and her legs are streaked with black stripes.
She also brays like a donkey but barks like a zebra.
"I have not given Mona Lisa voice lessons yet, but she sure can use it," said Baygulova, an opera singer and voice coach.
Zebras and donkeys almost never mate, and even if they do, the odds of procreation are slim, experts say. Their offspring often are sterile.
"It's really rare," said Janet Roser, a UC Davis professor who specializes in equine reproduction. "There may be a few in zoos."
Horses and zebras have been known to mix as well. Their offspring are called "zorses."
Mona Lisa was probably born in the Sierra Nevadas and her mother was probably a zebra, Baygulova said.
She clearly has a penchant for attention, braying and barking when Baygulova moved over to pet her horse.
"She's like the bratty little sister," Baygulova said, adding that despite the jealousy, the two animals love each other.
Because of the shape of her back, Mona Lisa can't wear a saddle, but Baygulova said she can still be ridden.
"A lot of people say they're untrainable," Baygulova joked. "Maybe I'm half-zebra."
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