World-first donkey IVF treatment: 10 embryos are now frozen in liquid nitrogen
Donkey embryos are much more difficult to work with, with a success rate of 5-10% compared to horses (30%)
‘Life is tough, but it’s even tougher when you’re stupid’, John Wayne is supposed to have said.
Wayne played hard-man oafish characters on screen but, as one wag put it, ‘he wasn’t as stupid as he looked’. He liked reading Dickens — his favourite novel wasDavid Copperfield. Although donkeys don’t read Dickens, something similar might be said of them.
In a paper just published, scientists at the University of Queensland describe using state-of-the-art IVF techniques to create donkey embryos in the laboratory.
To the man-in-the-street, the humble ass might seem unworthy of such attention. While its close relative the horse is a ‘noble steed’ — revered and respected by everybody — the donkey is a lowly door-mat.
A survey by the Donkey Sanctuary in Britain found that 54% of people believe that donkeys are obstinate and 74% think them stupid. The prejudice is not new; Homer described the ass as ‘tardus’. But ‘even Homer nods’; perhaps it is we who are stupid, not donkeys?
This beast-of-burden’s ancestors were African wild asses, whose foals were taken into captivity in Nubia between 5,000 and 9,000 years ago. They proved easy to keep and train. Forerunners of today’s juggernauts, asses have made an enormous contribution to human welfare through their labour over the centuries. There may be 40 million donkeys alive today. Although still widely used, particularly in poorer countries, these affectionate animals have a new role in the affluent West as pets.
The ‘song’ of Chesterton’s ‘devil’s walking parody on all four-footed things’ is a musical travesty. Raucous hee-hawing and rabbit-like ears may not endear the donkey to us, but they are essential to the singer’s welfare in the wild.
Stallions defend exclusive territories. Calls can be heard up to 2km away while the ears of vigilant females are tuned to receive them.
But are the complaints of obstinacy and stupidity justified? A donkey may dig its heels in, refusing to obey commands. ‘Freezing’, remaining motionless when frightened, is a defensive measure used by animals great and small when they feel threatened. It is not peculiar to donkeys, nor does it indicate obstinacy.
The apparent intransigence enforces the notion that donkeys are stupid. However, the results of a study, carried out by the Sanctuary in 2013, showed that they are, on average, just as intelligent as dogs and dolphins, with excellent memories and problem-solving abilities.
Is what Wittgenstein called ‘the bewitchment of language’ responsible for the negative profile? ‘Give a dog a bad name’.
Prejudices become embodied in our speech and folklore. We call someone ‘an ass’ to insult his or her intelligence. Some people refer to their rear end as their 'ass’.
Dr Andres Gambini, is quoted on the Queensland University website. He says that 20 of the 28 varieties of European donkey are endangered, seven of them critically.
By fusing sperm and ova artificially, ‘a frozen zoo’ of embryos can be created which would help secure the survival of vulnerable wild-asses and threatened donkey breeds. Ten embryos are now frozen in liquid nitrogen. They will be implanted in suitable surrogate mothers in Dolly the Sheep fashion.
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