Are a donkey and a jackass the same?
Pertaining to animals, the answer is yes.
A donkey, an ass, and a burro, are all the same name for the same
beast. Jackass, is merely the name for a male ass, while jennett, not
jillass, is the name for a female ass.
The Ancient Egyptians domesticated the sturdy ass over 5,000 years
ago, for use as transportation, and to transport their belongings and
commodities. This form of cheap labor, of which there are many kinds,
spread throughout the world, and uses of the ass expanded to include
the skin off of the ass, the meat off of it's bones, and the actual
export of the ass as a commodity.
The Somali wild ass, hailing from Somalia and elsewhere in Africa, is
a prime example of the versatility of the ass, as these shy animals,
living together in groups of 5-20, adapt well to the desert climate,
and can exist on a diet of dry grass and shrubs. The over-depletion of
the versatile Somali wild ass, however, explains its rarity today.
Asian wild asses, for example, the Syrian wild ass, suffered a similar
fate, and can no longer be found in Syria, and in other parts of the
Middle East. Man has hunted the Nubian wild ass, a northeastern
African type, once living from the Nile to the Red Sea, almost to the
point of extinction. Certain groups are attempting to protect the few
remaining asses from being hunted and killed.
The modern ass, a descendent of the Nubian wild ass, meets the same
transportation needs in Mexico, and in Central America, as it did in
Ancient Egypt.
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