It’s a happy day for the Dakota Zoo in Bismarck, North Dakota and one of their donkeys. The mama donk has given birth to the perfect newborn — a baby boy named Roger.
Zoo officials say they’ve been waiting for months for Roger’s arrival. A new baby is always something to celebrate.
Speaking with KXNET, zoo employee Brent Weston told them that they’d been anxiously awaiting for the birth to happen.
“This is probably the most anticipated event of the summer,” Weston explained on August 19. “Our mom, Patty, has made us wait, but there is a new baby donkey, a boy named Roger. Roger was just born a couple of days ago.”
Mom Patty was in labor for hours before little Roger entered the world — finally.
“It’s been very busy over here,” Weston said. “I mean, it’s always busy in this petting zoo area, but the donkeys have definitely been getting more attention.”
“Like I said, it’s been very anticipated,” he added. “She’s made us wait. She started showing signs that the baby could be coming any time now a month or two ago. And yeah, we just come in every morning and asked, ‘Is it here yet?'”
Thankfully, Roger didn’t make his mama wait any longer and he was eventually born. According to the zoo’s website, Roger and Patty are both miniature Donkeys. These Donks are native to the Mediterranean islands of Sicily and Sardinia.
“While these animals are quite common in the United States, they are extremely rare in their native lands, even being on the verge of becoming extinct,” they note. Making Roger’s birth all the more special.
Most mini Donkeys are 36 inches tall at their withers (that’s the spot between their shoulders). And they have a pretty long lifespan too. Most of these animals can live to at least 30 years old. One mini Donkey even lived until it was 47 years old.
Many mini Donkeys live on farms in the United States where they act as “watch Donkeys” for the property. This means they keep an eye out for predators who target sheep and goats. This is usually because Donkeys naturally don’t like dogs or their much scarier relatives — wolves and coyotes.
As for Roger, it seems as if the newborn is adjusting to life at the Dakota Zoo easily. Although Weston said that the baby has been known to get a case of the “zoomies” every now and then. Guests can visit Roger, and the zoo’s many other residents, from 10 to 6 daily at the Dakota Zoo.
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Source Agencies
