Why do many places in the United States keep donkeys to protect the herd instead of herding dogs?

Have you ever heard of raising donkeys to protect livestock? Perhaps many people are completely unaware of this, but in fact in many parts of the United States.

It sounds absurd, but it's completely true.

Have you ever heard of raising donkeys to protect livestock? Perhaps many people are completely unaware of this, but in fact, in many parts of the United States, there are wolves in extremely large numbers, they can chase and kill even sheepdogs. big. However, an extremely strange thing is that although wolves have an extremely aggressive character, when they see donkeys, they will instantly become "gentle and honest", so donkeys have a secret. What secret and "power" to do that?

Throughout the ancient to modern period, the most prominent role of the donkey was to pull the mill, in addition, they were also used as a means of carrying and transporting goods. Folks used to call donkeys a stupid species, however, donkeys also have a hidden skill, which is to scare wolves and defend sheep.

Picture 1 of Why do many places in the United States keep donkeys to protect the herd instead of herding dogs?

Donkeys are not aggressive by nature, but they can deliver fatal kicks to their opponents if they feel threatened. Sheep and goat ranchers often keep one or two donkeys with their herd, because a donkey can and will kill coyotes or coyotes around.

In the last century, Texas in the United States has become a famous place in the world for cattle raising, but here there is a problem that makes farmers feel very headache, that is: threat from wolves. And according to the description of the ranchers, the situation of cattle being eaten by wolves happens often, even the house dogs on the farm are bitten to death by wolves, and the most terrible thing is that they dare to attack. even the bulls.

Therefore, many farmers have decided to use guns to protect their livestock, but pistols can only injure wolves and are not effective protection measures. Accordingly, many farms had to declare bankruptcy under the threat of wolves.

Picture 2 of Why do many places in the United States keep donkeys to protect the herd instead of herding dogs?

Usually, a donkey will confront wolves and drive it out of the pasture. If the wolves do not retreat quickly, the donkeys will attack them with kicks. One hit can injure, kill, or at least frustrate a predator.

Meanwhile, the remaining farms decided to use another method, which is electric fences. This method worked well at first, although it was very expensive to maintain, plus the wolves were so smart that later this method also became ineffective.

Picture 3 of Why do many places in the United States keep donkeys to protect the herd instead of herding dogs?

Donkeys do not like wild dogs, coyotes, foxes, and other members of the canine family. So, when a donkey sees any animals in this family, its temper will get out of control and it will immediately come and attack these animals.

After that, ranchers got together to come up with an effective way to deal with the wolves, and some ranchers suggested trying to breed donkeys in the pasture. At first, many people thought that this was just a joke because wolves can kill sheep, sheepdogs and even gaurs, while donkeys are just herbivores, they will easily be turned away by wolves. an easy meal.

Picture 4 of Why do many places in the United States keep donkeys to protect the herd instead of herding dogs?

When a wolf is detected, the donkey will attack with a series of kicks.

In fact, donkeys do not have great strength like tigers, leopards, lions, but they have a strong hatred for animals such as dogs, foxes, wolves, so when they see wolves, it will not hesitate to charge, and the damage coming from its hooves is great.

Normally when a wolf is detected, the donkey will rush to attack with a series of kicks, and when the wolf is hit, even though it has not lost its life, it will immediately be attacked by the donkey continuously and eventually will be trampled to death by a donkey.

Because such things have happened, folk believe that donkeys are the wolf's arch-enemies, according to which sheep farms also try to raise a few donkeys to guard against wolves. And of course this method worked, so today we can see a lot of cattle ranches in the United States that often keep donkeys to protect the sheep instead of keeping dogs.

Picture 5 of Why do many places in the United States keep donkeys to protect the herd instead of herding dogs?

Picture 6 of Why do many places in the United States keep donkeys to protect the herd instead of herding dogs?

Picture 7 of Why do many places in the United States keep donkeys to protect the herd instead of herding dogs?

Picture 8 of Why do many places in the United States keep donkeys to protect the herd instead of herding dogs?

Donkeys have a close relationship with the animals in the cage and this relationship only becomes stronger when they spend more time together. When donkeys are naturally attached to livestock, the donkeys will stay by their side most of the time and in the event of any attack, the donkeys will stand up for them. Donkeys have strong eyesight and can see very well at night. Whenever a donkey feels threatened, it will make a loud alarm call to alert the shepherd and animals in the barn.

Update 09 August 2022
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