11/18/2025
DID YOU KNOW?
Probably the first thing you notice about donkeys are their huge ears. Our foster mammoth, Blossom, has 12” long ears!! How can you not notice those?! They serve a few important roles other than just being adorable!
Since donkeys originally evolved in hot climates, the large surface area of their ears help them to stay cool. Their ears have a ton of blood vessels close to the surface of the skin which allows their body heat to be released and their temperature to be regulated.
Just like their eyes, donkeys can also move their ears independently. They do this to express emotion/communicate and for hearing:
Ears straight forward usually mean they are focused on something. We notice it the most in our girls when deer are coming down the hillside, but they can’t see them. They know something is coming, but they don’t know what!
Ears pinned back can mean they aren’t very happy, but not all the time! When we are giving our girls butt scratches and they are all relaxed, their ears usually lay back flat. If they are unhappy with one another and in a little tiff, their ears will also lay back flat. It just depends on the situation!
Unsurprisingly, their big ears also mean they have great hearing! It is said they can hear another donkey bray from 60 miles away in the desert!! This helps them to communicate where food and water sources are and if predators are around. For context, Washington state is 240 miles north to south. 60 miles is 1/4 of that! That is impressive!!
Their hearing is so sensitive, they can even hear your heart beat when you are near. That’s why you want to try and stay calm when working with them, because they can tell when you are agitated or stressed.
Donkeys LOVE to have their ears scratched! They relax so much their bottom lip goes limp and their head droops in pure bliss! A good ear scratch will win them over faster than a treat will!
So, did you know?!
