There is a specific term for the science of animal classification, and that is taxonomy. Let’s understand it in this way, sometimes it becomes quite difficult to recognize the exact animal a person is talking about as the same name can be used to denote two different animals, species, or any subspecies.
This is where taxonomy helps. This is a real fact that several animals have the same name, but they belong to a totally different species, while there are some animals, which have the same species or family but have totally different names.
Donkey vs Jackass
The main difference between donkey and jackass is that jackass has its very own specification, and that is, it refers to the “male” donkey only. In fact, it is actually derived from the nickname of a male donkey which was ‘jack.’ While the donkeys of female genders are called “jennies.” While donkeys themselves are part of the horse family.
Donkey is quite the most well-known and most commonly used term. Plus, it is also likely for us to be aware of this term as donkeys are used worldwide for different purposes. Equidae is the family that gives birth to donkeys. They are actually from the horse family only. Although once this family was widely diverse in almost every nation and the continent but now the only order that has remained is Equus.
Jackass is nothing specific but the male ones of a donkey. Donkey is an ass that is coming under domestic animals. The ass is a species of animal and belongs from the species of horse and even zebra too. They are part and belong to the equiid family, and the family is usually found in the wilds of Africa and Asia.
Comparison Table Between Donkey and Jackass
| Parameters of Comparison | Donkey | Jackass |
| What are they? | Donkeys are one of the most commonly known animals belonging to the family of horses. | Jackass is the male donkey and the word is derived from the nickname of a donkey that was ‘jack’. |
| Species | The species of a donkey is E.Asinus. | The species of a jackass is the same as that of the donkey. |
| Family | Donkeys belong to the family of horses only named Equidae. | Jackass belongs to the family of both horses and zebras called equiid. |
| Reproduction | Donkeys can reproduce when they breed with female ones. | A jackass cannot reproduce, they are just born. |
| Used since | The donkey is being used as a working animal for more than 5000 years. | A jackass is just the make version of a donkey and is also being used for more than 5000 years. |
What is Donkey?
Donkeys are one of the most commonly used domestic animals in the entire world. They serve different purposes with different aims. They are from the family of Equidae. They are most commonly used because horses and donkeys are easily domesticated, while people have also attempted to domesticate zebras but have failed significantly. Both horses and donkeys are domesticated for millennia.
They are used for more than just one task. They are used for transportation, farming, sports, military works, industry works, and many more. As they are used in so many fields, it is quite obvious now that without them, our world would be quite different. Although it is also true that economically developed countries like the USA and Japan do not rely on them.
What is Jackass?
Donkeys have several different names, which can be understood by having proper knowledge of taxonomy. The male ones are called jackass. It is derived from the nickname of male donkeys which was ‘jack.’ A mule is formed as a result when a male donkey which is a jackass, is bred with the female one. Long before the time when horses were started to be domesticated by humans, asses were domesticated by them in the region of Africa.
Before the era of mechanized farming equipment and machines, mules were quite the most famous farm labor. Mules are both born male and female, but the fact about them is they cannot reproduce. Burro is another kind of donkey, but it is the wild one and is found in the southwestern parts of Mexico and the United States. Burro is actually the Spanish word for donkey only.
Main Differences Between Donkey and Jackass
- The main difference between donkey and jackass is that Jackass is the male donkey, and the word is derived from the nickname of a donkey that was ‘jack’ while we all know about Donkeys. They are one of the most commonly known animals belonging to the family of horses.
- The species of a donkey is E. Asinus, while the species of a jackass is the same as that of the donkey, this is because they are both actually the same animal, but the specifications differ from one another.
- Donkeys belong from the family of horses only named Equidae, whereas Jackass being the male version of a donkey, only still belongs to the family of both horses and zebras called equiid.
- Donkeys can reproduce when they breed with female ones, while the fact about jackass is that they cannot reproduce. They are just born.
- The donkey is being used as a working animal for more than 5000 years, and of course, jackass being just the male version of a donkey and is also being used for more than 5000 years.
Conclusion
It now concludes that the world without donkeys would be quite disrupted. People have been dependent on them for quite a long, and they are being domesticated by humans since the era long ago. They were the first ones that assisted humans in their tasks and made work easy. Before the era of mechanized equipment, donkeys and horses were the sorts of machines used by humans to get their work done.
References
- https://www.ivis.org/sites/default/files/library/aaep/2002/910102000113.PDF
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0006320776900422