Austro-Hungarian White Baroque Donkey

According to current knowledge, all domestic donkeys are descended from the African wild ass. Domestication by humans likely began more than 6,000 years ago in Egypt.

Depending on the breed, donkeys reach a shoulder height (at the withers) of 80 to 160 cm. Baroque donkeys are medium-sized donkeys with a shoulder height of about 120 cm.
Donkeys have a life expectancy of 30–40 years.

For a long time, white Baroque donkeys were referred to as albinos, but this has since been proven incorrect. True albinism is characterized by the complete absence of pigment in both the coat and the eyes. Consequently, the coat is pure white and the eyes are red, since the blood vessels are not covered by pigment.

White Baroque donkeys, on the other hand, have a whitish-light yellow coat and blue eyes. The skin and hooves are poorly pigmented and therefore pink. The yellowish color of the coat, which is much more pronounced in foals, has also earned the foals the name "Gelblinge" (yellowlings). The coat color of the Baroque donkey was long mistakenly referred to as "Cremello". However, a German research team recently discovered that a mutation exists in a specific section of a gene responsible for coloration, which occurs in all examined donkey breeds only in the Baroque donkey. This is the exact same gene mutation that is responsible for the light coat color and blue eyes in white tigers.

The mutation is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern, which means that the light coat color is not inherited dominantly but is preserved only when two Baroque donkeys are bred together.

The white Baroque donkey is a medium-sized breed of donkey, usually with a standing mane and short hair. Hanging manes and long hair are less common.

Donkeys owe their long ears—which are considerably longer than those of horses—to their original homeland, the deserts and mountains of North Africa. On the one hand, they serve a thermoregulatory function. Just like elephants, their large size and thin skin allow them to cool down more quickly, thus protecting the donkey from overheating. On the other hand, donkeys also have very sensitive hearing and can rotate their ears independently of one another 180 degrees forward and backward, allowing them to pinpoint the source of sounds.

However, these large ears have given them the bad reputation of being "stupid animals", even though the exact opposite is the case.

Originally, the White Baroque donkey was kept mainly in the Hungarian Carpathian Basin and in Austria. However, keeping them was largely reserved for the high nobility. With the collapse of the monarchy, the donkeys also dwindled. Today there are only a few left, whose keeping is also mainly restricted to their historical area. The two largest breeding groups are located in the Sandeck-Neudegg conservation zone of the Neusiedler See – Seewinkel National Park (Burgenland) and at Schloss Hof (Lower Austria). A few can still be found in zoos and private ownership in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France, and Spain.

Donkeys are social animals that only feel safe in a herd. Depending on the food and water availability of their habitat, wild donkeys live in groups comprising about 10 mares and their foals. Under very good environmental conditions, loosely structured groups of up to 50 animals can also come together. Young stallions are also on the move in groups until they reach sexual maturity, which occurs at 2-2.5 years of age. Adult stallions behave strictly territorially. They defend their territory, which can be up to 15 km² in size. Mare groups within a territory are claimed by the stallion. This can also lead to fierce fights between stallions.

European domestic donkey breeds originate from the African wild donkey, which is distributed in the mountainous desert regions of North Africa. The lean meadows of the Seewinkel therefore provide the perfect diet for the White Baroque donkey. Donkeys need low-energy feed with a high crude fiber content. Too lush pastures quickly lead to obesity and colic. Feeding the animals fruit, bread, cabbage, etc. can be fatal for them.

The Austro-Hungarian White Baroque donkey was bred in the 17th and 18th centuries, hence the name "Baroque donkey". In this era, white animals were considered "bringers of light" and stood for good. The white donkey was a status symbol. So whoever wanted to be someone in the Baroque period owned a white donkey.

Baroque donkeys were already considered "lost" in the 1970s. In 1986, however, a few specimens of this ancient breed were rediscovered in the Herberstein Wildlife Park. In 2017, the Association for the Conservation of White Baroque Donkeys succeeded in having the breed recognized by the official authorities. This makes the White Baroque donkey Austria's only purebred donkey.
Today, the Association for the Conservation of the White Baroque Donkey is intensively involved in breeding this highly rare domestic animal breed! St. Martins Therme & Lodge is part of the association's board and is also represented on the Baroque donkey evaluation committee! Feel free to follow @barockesel on Instagram!

Donkeys are often described as stubborn and stupid. But the exact opposite is the case. Their origin in mountainous desert regions, where blind flight can mean death, has led donkeys to independently assess every situation as dangerous or harmless. This characteristic also makes the donkey a reliable companion to humans. Donkeys are therefore increasingly valued as therapy animals. For example, they radiate a special calmness that can also be transmitted to humans.