Alie Ward

Okay, asinology comes from the Latin word asinus.

It means ass, which means donkey.

Donkey itself may come from an old word meaning dull brown, but that's been debated.

But ass, as in your ass is gonna love this episode,

came much later, and that was derived from the British arse, which came from a word for tail, a rump.

We do also discuss rumps in this episode, and I think you'll appreciate it.

So take a long drink of water, saddle up for big ears, milky baths,

emperor gossip, squats versus donkey kicks, how much weight can a beast of burden bear, mule genetics, zoo sexism, how to care for a donkey, where to pet a donkey, what their noises mean.

And heads up, we do have donkey noises in here, so do not be startled.

They're happy donkeys.

As well as what a donkey eats, what's up with those teeth, donkeys on film, and busting so much flim flam.

with researcher, director of research and operational support and nonprofit, The Donkey Sanctuary, friend to donkeys worldwide and asinologist, Dr. Faith Burden.

You are all the way in the UK.

Where exactly are donkeys?

Do you know where are they from from?

How long have they been kind of all over the world?

At what point did people start saying donkeys?

I gotta get some donkeys over here.

So yes, Equus asinus was domesticated from the wild African ass, and it's a stunning creature with this strong

jaw it's got a stout frame and this really beautiful pewter colored velveteen looking coat and yes donkeys have been our friends and tools for millennia according to researchers of the 2022 paper the genomic history and global expansion of domestic donkeys in the journal science domesticated in africa went all around came back to africa but before donkeys made that world tour genetically