The Loch Ness Zonkey

I could not get to bed without writing this, because I am chagrined to not have already talked about this, as it delights me so.

We live in a somewhat rural place, where suburb meets farm without warning as you drive along our coast. One such farm has a fenced pasture along the road. And on that pasture there exists a creature of folklore, myth, and legend (well, in my own mind, anyway). I have actually SEEN it. About a year ago, my mother and I were driving past the pasture in question, and THERE IT WAS. Seeing this animal caused me to hit my brakes, spin out a bit, and try to turn the car around. In all the effort, I was not rewarded, for the elusive creature was gone when I got back to the place where I had sighted it.

What was it, you ask? (I know you did... admit it) Loch Ness is in Scotland somewhere, and Sasquatch (aka Bigfoot) generally does not spend much time in open pastures, I understand. He's more of a deep woods kind of guy. The Abominable Snowman by definition needs.... snow.

So what was it?

Why, it was a ZONKEY.

What is a Zonkey, you ask? (again, I just know...) Hmmm... well, it is utterly fascinating. I have been told that the owner of that farm bred giant Arabian horses to donkeys. From there, he bred one of the HUGE donkey-horses to a ZEBRA. And voila - enter ZONKEYS, a hybrid of giant donkey and zebra. The creature is HUGE - about one half again as large as the biggest horse I've ever seen, easily towering over the cows sharing the pasture. And it has black and white stripes, a whipping black mane, and very large eyes. It looks almost frightening until it runs - then it becomes amazingly lithe and stunning. It embodies the image of WILD ANIMAL a majestic and exotic creature you'd expect to see on Wild Kingdom or in a Zoo - not on a farm down the road from my home.

So, I have my little mysterious creature of folklore, right up there (in my mind, anyway) with the likes of old Loch Ness and it is my heart's delight. As we drove by the farm tonight and tried to catch a glimpse. I was endeavoring not to be too obvious as I craned my head out the window in the pouring rain. I did not succeed in that endeavor. And sadly, for all my effort, there were no Zonkey sightings today.

But there's always tomorrow. Wish me luck.