Anyone for a zonkey ride?

SHE’S got her mother’s ears. But only if she inherited her stubborn streak could little Ippo claim to be pure donkey.

The f oal’s curious markings prove she’s set to earn her stripes as a zonkey.

And if she takes after her amorous zebra father nothing will stand in her way.

The determined zebra climbed his protective fence at an animal reserve in Florence in order to mate with a donkey in a neighbouring field. The father had been rescued from a failing zoo, while the mother is a donkey of Amiata, an endangered species. From that special meeting came Ippo, who just days-old, has the colouring of her mother with her dad’s distinctive stripes.

Serena Aglietti, who works at the reserve, said: ‘Ippo is the only one of her kind in Italy.’

Like mules, zonkeys are generally genetically unable to breed, due to an odd number of chromosomes. While rare, there are a few around the world, including one at a donkey sanctuary in England called Zambi. Donkey Rescue UK also has a zorse called Zulu, and Zee the donkra – the offspring of a male donkey and a female zebra, which are extremely rare.

Amanda Bell, who runs the sanctuary, has helped rescue more than 50 donkeys from all over Europe.

She said: ‘I don’t necessarily agree with breeding these hybrids but they needed rescuing so we took them on.

‘They are fascinating creatures.’