tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8049832311913108906.post834505924340963377..comments2023-12-16T02:39:56.603-06:00Comments on Gordon Grice: Giant Jackass Kills MayorUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8049832311913108906.post-25163807799954643542012-09-03T06:31:53.689-05:002012-09-03T06:31:53.689-05:00Interesting. I can imagine paying to see themInteresting. I can imagine paying to see themGordon Gricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13068980330242909601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8049832311913108906.post-6979951049168662622012-09-03T05:55:49.685-05:002012-09-03T05:55:49.685-05:00Aparently just as curiosities, and some even perfo...Aparently just as curiosities, and some even performed in circuses. Croconutnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8049832311913108906.post-4322731096100080822012-09-03T04:21:36.968-05:002012-09-03T04:21:36.968-05:00Were they trying to use them as beasts of burden? ...Were they trying to use them as beasts of burden? I'm wondering what the advantage would be, considering there are plenty of donkeys. Gordon Gricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13068980330242909601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8049832311913108906.post-21682394172264144352012-09-03T01:36:06.792-05:002012-09-03T01:36:06.792-05:00I remember reading about some hybrids kept in circ...I remember reading about some hybrids kept in circuses which were "as smart as zebras but as docile as donkeys", so perhaps these hybrids are more likely to be truly domesticated, kinda like those house cat breeds with wild cat (serval, leopard cat etc) blood who are more docile and domesticable the more removed they are from the wild ancestor.Croconutnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8049832311913108906.post-80616129702658935972012-09-02T20:01:11.579-05:002012-09-02T20:01:11.579-05:00I've seen footage of zebras attacking and driv...I've seen footage of zebras attacking and driving off hyenas--the hyenas, once they realized the zebra was not bluffing, scattered, one being badly trampled before it got up and hobbled away--and a tourist in Kenya, I want to say, shot film of one routing a leopard. All evidence I've run across on the zebra suggests that individual ones may be tamed--or at least as much as a miserable, bad-tempered mustang can be considered tame--but as a species, they just don't take to it. They've been crossed with both horses and donkeys; it would be interesting to see how amenable to true domesticity such offspring are.James Smithnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8049832311913108906.post-54526797312912887602012-09-02T11:07:04.298-05:002012-09-02T11:07:04.298-05:00Makes sense that they'd be pretty fierce, cons...Makes sense that they'd be pretty fierce, considering the predators they have to deal with. Gordon Gricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13068980330242909601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8049832311913108906.post-75197043336225702272012-09-02T03:18:48.730-05:002012-09-02T03:18:48.730-05:00They are indeed more dangerous, and impossible to ...They are indeed more dangerous, and impossible to domesticate it seems- thats what people from circuses and zoos have told me. They are smart enough to learn tricks and all but likely to go on rampage without warning. Also, apparently, Grevy's and Grant's zebras are fiercer than plain zebras. Croconutnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8049832311913108906.post-54702200520095357642012-09-02T03:05:41.903-05:002012-09-02T03:05:41.903-05:00There was an interesting zebra attack in Zimbabwe ...There was an interesting zebra attack in Zimbabwe a couple of years ago, seemingly quite similar to this donkey attack. I've seen a number of references to zebras being less docile and more dangerous than horses. Gordon Gricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13068980330242909601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8049832311913108906.post-14535725927408714822012-09-01T17:42:14.393-05:002012-09-01T17:42:14.393-05:00I suspect the primary danger with horses and donke...I suspect the primary danger with horses and donkeys lies in the same principle as applies to domestic dogs: familiarity breeds contempt, or else our ideal of a horse (especially horses!)clouds our judgment. People who would never try to take excessive liberty with a bull because the animal is "vicious" would dismiss similar behavior in a stallion as being "spirited."<br /><br />In a fantasy novel I'm working on, I chose to feature unicorns, and wanted to make them as realistic as possible (I opted for an equine unicorn rather than the more scientifically sound antilo-caprine model.) Since some of the scenes in which they figured involved violence and fighting, I did some research and quickly learned that horses do not merely hurt humans by accident--an enraged stallion, excited by a mare in heat, can maim or kill a man with his teeth alone. Donkeys and mules (I'm unsure about zebras, though it would not surprise me) are even worse in some respects, given their intelligence. A friend of mine, an expert horsewoman, reported an uneasy encounter with several mules and her dog--the animals circled the dog and were clearly preparing to attack it.<br /><br />In the end, my unicorns became animals with the hormones and strength of horses and the intelligence of chimps, which makes me grateful they exist only in my story!James Smithnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8049832311913108906.post-71064021489030948352012-09-01T16:05:34.138-05:002012-09-01T16:05:34.138-05:00I trust donkeys as little as I trust horses. I rem...I trust donkeys as little as I trust horses. I remember in the local press many years ago (I was about 12) there was a story about a farmer who was bitten and mauled to death by an angry donkey who was trying to mate with the farmer's female donkey. The story caught my attention because the donkey was actually "trialed", "found guilty" and "condemned to jail" as if it was a human murderer- proof that in my country the Middle Ages are not over just yet.Croconutnoreply@blogger.com