Wikipedia

Mule

For other uses, seeMule (disambiguation)andMules (disambiguation).

Themuleis adomesticequinehybridbetween adonkeyand ahorse.It is theoffspringof a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (amare).[1][2]The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers ofchromosomes;of the two possiblefirst-generation hybridsbetween them, the mule is easier to obtain and more common than thehinny,which is the offspring of a male horse (astallion) and a female donkey (ajenny).

Mule
Domesticated
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Equidae
Tribe: Equini
Genus: Equus
Species:
E. africanus asinus♂ ×E. ferus caballus♀

Mules vary widely in size, and may be of any color.[citation needed]They are more patient, hardier and longer-lived than horses, and are perceived as less obstinate and more intelligent than donkeys.[3]: 5 

Terminology

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A female mule that hasoestruscycles, and so could, in theory, carry a foetus, is called a "molly" or "Molly mule", although the term is sometimes used to refer to female mules in general. A male mule is properly called a "horse mule", although it is often called a "john mule", which is the correct term for ageldedmule. A young male mule is called a "mule colt", and a young female is called a "mule filly".[4]

History

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Painting in theTomb of NebamunatThebes,showing a pair of animals which could be mules oronagers
Ancient Greekrhytonin the shape of the head of a mule, made byBrygos,early fifth century BC,Jérôme Carcopino Museum,Aleria,Corsica

Breeding of mules became possible only when the range of the domestic horse, which originated inCentral Asiain about3500 BC,extended into that of the domestic ass, which originated in north-eastern Africa. This overlap probably occurred inAnatoliaandMesopotamiain Western Asia, and mules were bred there before1000 BC.[5]: 37 

A painting in theTomb of NebamunatThebes,dating from approximately1350 BC,shows a chariot drawn by a pair of animals which have been variously identified asonagers,[6]as mules[5]: 37 or as hinnies.[7]: 96 Mules were present inIsrael and Judahin the time ofKing David.[5]: 37 There are many representations of them inMesopotamianworks of art dating from the first millennium BC. Among thebas-reliefsdepicting theLion Hunt of Ashurbanipalfrom the North Palace ofNinevehis a clear and detailed image of two mules loaded with nets for hunting.[7]: 96 [8]

Homernoted their arrival in Asia Minor in theIliadin 800 BC.[9]

Christopher Columbus allegedly brought mules to the New World.[10][better source needed]

Mule and AssbyHendrik GoltziusorHieronymus Wierix,1578

George Washingtonbred mules at hisMount Vernonhome. At the time, they were not common in the United States, but Washington understood their value, as they were "more docile than donkeys and cheap to maintain."[11]In the nineteenth century, they were used in various capacities as draught animals – on farms, especially where clay made the soil slippery and sticky; pulling canal boats; and famously for pulling, often in teams of 20 or more animals, wagonloads ofboraxout ofDeath Valley,California from 1883 to 1889. The wagons were among the largest ever pulled by draught animals, designed to carry 10short tons(9 metric tons) of borax ore at a time.[12]

Mules were used by armies to transport supplies, occasionally as mobile firing platforms for smaller cannons, and to pull heavier field guns with wheels over mountainous trails such as in Afghanistan during theSecond Anglo-Afghan War.[13]

In the second half of the twentieth century, widespread use of mules declined in industrialised countries. The use of mules for farming and for transportation of agricultural products largely gave way to steam-, then diesel-powered,tractorsand lorries.[citation needed] On 5 May 2003,Idaho Gem,a mule foalclonedbynuclear transferof cells fromfoetalmaterial, was born at theUniversity of IdahoinMoscow, Idaho.[14]: 2924 [15]Neither an equid nor a hybrid animal had been cloned before.[14]: 2924 [15]

Characteristics

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Loading mules, fromEleven Years in the Rocky Mountains and a Life on the FrontierbyFrances Fuller Victor,1887

In general terms, in both the mule and the hinny, the foreparts and head of the animal are similar to those of the fathersire,while the hindparts and tail tend to resemble those of thedam.[5]: 36 A mule is generally larger than a hinny, with longer ears and a heavier head; the tail is usually covered with long hair like that of its mare mother.[5]: 37 A mule has the thin limbs, small narrow hooves and shortmaneof the donkey, while its height, the shape of the neck and body, and the uniformity of its coat and teeth are more similar to those of the horse.[16]

Mules vary widely in size, from small miniature mules under 125 cm (50 in) to large and powerful draught mules standing up to 180 cm (70 in) at thewithers.[17]: 86 The median weight range is between about 370 and 460 kg (820 and 1000 lb).[18]

The coat may be of any color seen in the horse or in the donkey. Mules usually display the light points commonly seen in donkeys: pale or mealy areas on the belly and the insides of the thighs, on the muzzle, and around the eyes. They often haveprimitive markingssuch as dorsal stripe, shoulder stripe or zebra stripes on the legs.[5]: 37 

The mule exhibitshybrid vigor.[19]Charles Darwinwrote: "The mule always appears to me a most surprising animal. That a hybrid should possess more reason, memory, obstinacy, social affection, powers of muscular endurance, and length of life, than either of its parents, seems to indicate that art has here outdone nature".[20]

The mule inherits from the donkey the traits of intelligence, sure-footedness, toughness, endurance, disposition, and natural cautiousness. From the horse it inherits speed, conformation, and agility.[21]: 5–6, 8 Mules are reputed to exhibit a higher cognitive intelligence than their parent species, but robust scientific evidence to back up these claims is lacking. Preliminary data exist from at least two evidence-based studies, but they rely ona limited set of specialized cognitive tests and a small number of subjects.[22][23]Mules are generally taller at the shoulder than donkeys and have better endurance than horses, although a lower top speed.[22]

In the early twentieth century the mule was preferred to the horse as apack animal– its skin is harder and less sensitive than that of a horse, and it is better able to bear heavy weights.[16]

Fertility

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A mule has 63chromosomes,intermediate between the 64 of the horse and the 62 of the donkey.[24]Mules are usuallyinfertilefor this reason.[25]

Pregnancy is rare, but can occasionally occur naturally, as well as throughembryo transfer.A few mare mules have produced offspring when mated with a horse or donkey stallion.[26][27]Herodotusgives an account of such an event as an ill omen ofXerxes' invasion of Greecein 480 BC: "There happened also a portent of another kind while he was still at Sardis—a mule brought forth young and gave birth to a mule" (HerodotusThe Histories7:57), and a mule's giving birth was a frequently recorded portent in antiquity, although scientific writers also doubted whether it was really possible (see e.g.Aristotle,Historia animalium,6.24;Varro,De re rustica,2.1.28). Between 1527 and 2002, approximately sixty such births were reported.[27]InMoroccoin early 2002 andColoradoin 2007, mare mules produced colts.[27][28][29]Blood and hair samples from the Colorado birth verified that the mother was indeed a mule and the foal was indeed her offspring.[29]

A 1939 article in theJournal of Hereditydescribes two offspring of a fertile mare mule named "Old Bec," which was owned at the time byTexas A&M Universityin the late 1920s. One of the foals was a female, sired by a jack. Unlike her mother, she was sterile. The other, sired by a five-gaitedSaddlebredstallion, exhibited no characteristics of any donkey. That horse, a stallion, was bred to several mares, which gave birth to live foals that showed no characteristics of the donkey.[30]In 1995, a group from theFederal University of Minas Geraisdescribed a female mule that was pregnant for a seventh time, having previously produced two donkey sires, two foals with the typical 63 chromosomes of mules, and several horse stallions that had produced four foals. The three of the latter available for testing each bore 64 horse-like chromosomes. These foals phenotypically resembled horses, though they bore markings absent from the sire's known lineages, and one had ears noticeably longer than those typical of her sire's breed. The elder two horse-like foals had proved fertile at the time of publication, with their progeny being typical of horses.[31]

Use

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A 20-mule team inDeath Valley, California

While a few mules can carry live weight up to 160 kg (353 lb), the superiority of the mule becomes apparent in their additional endurance.[32]In general, a mule can be packed with dead weight up to 20% of its body weight, or around 90 kg (198 lb).[32]Although it depends on the individual animal, mules trained by theArmy of Pakistanare reported to be able to carry up to 72 kg (159 lb) and walk 26 km (16.2 mi) without resting.[33]The average equine in general can carry up to roughly 30% of its body weight in live weight, such as a rider.[34]

About 3.5 million donkeys and mules are slaughtered each year for meat worldwide.[35]

Mule trains have been part of working portions of transportation links as recently as 2005 by theWorld Food Programme,[36]and are still used extensively to transport cargo in rugged, roadless regions.[citation needed]

TheFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nationsreports that China was the top market for mules in 2003, closely followed by Mexico and many Central and South American nations.[citation needed]

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See also

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References

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  1. ^"Mule Day: A Local Legacy".americaslibrary.gov.Library of Congress. 18 December 2013.Archivedfrom the original on 28 September 2020.Retrieved22 September2020.
  2. ^"What is a mule?".The Donkey Sanctuary.Archivedfrom the original on 1 October 2020.Retrieved22 September2020.
  3. ^Jackson, Louise A (2004).The Mule Men: A History of Stock Packing in the Sierra Nevada.Missoula, MT: Mountain Press.ISBN0-87842-499-7.
  4. ^"Longear Lingo".lovelongears.com.American Donkey and Mule Society. 22 May 2013.Archivedfrom the original on 8 January 2018.Retrieved16 July2014.
  5. ^abcdefValerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016).Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and BreedingArchived5 February 2023 at theWayback Machine(sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI.ISBN9781780647944.
  6. ^Tomb-painting: Museum number EA37982.London: British Museum. Archived 25 June 2020.
  7. ^abJuliet Clutton-Brock (1981).Domesticated Animals from Early Times.Austin: University of Texas Press; London: British Museum (Natural History).ISBN0292715323.
  8. ^Wall panel; relief: Museum number 124896Archived6 July 2022 at theWayback Machine.London: British Museum. Accessed July 2022.
  9. ^"Homer, Iliad, Book 23, line 93".perseus.tufts.edu.Archivedfrom the original on 13 October 2022.Retrieved12 October2022.mules
  10. ^"Mules, mankind share a common history in modern world".The Daily Herald.Archivedfrom the original on 2 April 2023.Retrieved15 February2020.
  11. ^Chernow, Ron (2010).Washington: A Life.New York: The Penguin Press. pp. 483–484.ISBN978-1-59420-266-7.OCLC535490473.
  12. ^"Mules hauling a 22,000lb boiler".Texas State Library and Archives Commission.Archivedfrom the original on 2 June 2016.Retrieved4 September2015.
  13. ^Caption ofMule Battery WDL11495.pngLibrary of Congress
  14. ^abKatrin Hinrichs (2011). Nuclear Transfer. In: Angus O. McKinnon, Edward L. Squires, Wendy E. Vaala, Dickson D. Varner (editors) (2011).Equine ReproductionArchived26 March 2023 at theWayback Machine,second edition. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.ISBN9781444397635.
  15. ^abConstance Holden (30 May 2003).First Cloned Mule Races to Finish Line.Science.300(5624): 1354.
  16. ^abOne or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Mule".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 959–960.
  17. ^M. Eugene Ensminger (1990).Horses and Horsemanship(Animal Agriculture Series), sixth edition. Danville, Illinois: Interstate Publishers.ISBN9780813428833.
  18. ^"Mule".The Encyclopædia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General.Vol. XVII. Henry G. Allen and Company. 1888. p. 15.Archivedfrom the original on 2 April 2023.Retrieved27 March2016.
  19. ^Chen, Z. Jeffrey; Birchler, James A., eds. (2013).Polyploid and Hybrid Genomics.John Wiley & Sons.ISBN978-0-470-96037-0.Archivedfrom the original on 2 April 2023.Retrieved16 July2014.
  20. ^Darwin, Charles (1879).What Mr. Darwin Saw in His Voyage Round the World in the Ship 'Beagle'.New York: Harper & Bros. pp. 33–34.Retrieved16 July2014.
  21. ^Hauer, John, ed. (2014).The Natural Superiority of Mules.Skyhorse.ISBN978-1-62636-166-9.Retrieved16 July2014.
  22. ^abProops, Leanne; Faith Burden; Britta Osthaus (18 July 2008). "Mule cognition: a case of hybrid vigor?".Animal Cognition.12(1): 75–84.doi:10.1007/s10071-008-0172-1.PMID18636282.S2CID27962537.
  23. ^Giebel; et al. (1958). "Visuelles Lernvermögen bei Einhufern".Zoologische Jahrbücher.Physiologie.67:487–520.
  24. ^Huang, Jinlong; et al. (16 September 2015)."Donkey genome and insight into the imprinting of fast karyotype evolution".Scientific Reports.5:14106.Bibcode:2015NatSR...514106H.doi:10.1038/srep14106.PMC4571621.PMID26373886.
  25. ^RV, Short (1 October 1975). "The contribution of the mule to scientific thought".Journal of Reproduction and Fertility Supplement.1(1): 1.
  26. ^Savory, Theodore H (1970). "The Mule".Scientific American.223(6): 102–109.Bibcode:1970SciAm.223f.102S.doi:10.1038/scientificamerican1270-102.
  27. ^abcKay, Katty (2 October 2002)."Morocco's miracle mule".BBC News.Archivedfrom the original on 29 July 2018.Retrieved5 February2009.
  28. ^"Befuddling Birth: The Case of the Mule's Foal".National Public Radio.26 July 2007.Archivedfrom the original on 6 December 2008.Retrieved5 February2009.
  29. ^abLofholm, Nancy (19 September 2007)."Mule's foal fools genetics with 'impossible' birth".Denver Post.Archivedfrom the original on 7 November 2009.Retrieved5 February2009.
  30. ^Anderson, W. S. (1939). "Fertile Mare Mules".Journal of Heredity.30(12): 549–551.doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a104657.
  31. ^Henry, M.; Gastal, E.L.; Pinheiro, L.E.L.; Guimarmes, S.E.F. (1995)."Mating Pattern and Chromosome Analysis of a Mule and Her Offspring".Biology of Reproduction.52(Equine Reproduction VI – Monograph Series 1): 273–279.doi:10.1093/biolreprod/52.monograph_series1.273.
  32. ^ab"Hunter's Specialties: More With Wayne Carlton On Elk Hunting".hunterspec.com.Hunter's Specialties. 2009.Archivedfrom the original on 8 October 2010.Retrieved16 July2014.
  33. ^Khan, Aamer Ahmed (19 October 2005)."Beasts ease burden of quake victims".BBC.Archivedfrom the original on 29 April 2009.Retrieved6 April2010.
  34. ^American Endurance Ride Conference (November 2003)."Chapter 3, Section IV: Size".Endurance Rider's Handbook.AERC. Archived fromthe originalon 15 May 2008.Retrieved7 August2008.
  35. ^"FAOSTAT".www.fao.org.Archivedfrom the original on 24 February 2019.Retrieved25 October2019.
  36. ^"Mule train provides lifeline for remote quake survivors".www.wfp.org.World Food Programme. Archived fromthe originalon 8 December 2015.Retrieved4 September2015.

Further reading

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  • Media related toMuleat Wikimedia Commons
  • Data related toEquus mulusat Wikispecies
  • The dictionary definition ofmuleat Wiktionary
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