The Balearic, ca, italic=no, Ase Balear, es, italic=no, Asno Balear, is a Spanish

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

domestic donkey The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...

indigenous to the autonomous community of the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

, in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

off the eastern coast of Spain. It is found mainly in

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

, the largest island of the group, and also in

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

, where it was much used for

mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two pos ...

-breeding; it is no longer present in the islands of

Eivissa Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its la ...

and

Formentera Formentera (, ) is the smallest and most southerly island of the Pityusic Islands group (comprising Ibiza and Formentera, as well as various small islets), which belongs to the Balearic Islands autonomous community (Spain). It covers an area of ...

. Since 2006 it has been officially called the ; it was previously known as the , and was also referred to as the Ase MallorquÍ, Asno Mallorquín or Mallorquín.

History

The Balearic shares common origins with the

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

and the

Baudet du Poitou The Baudet du Poitou, also called the Poitevin or Poitou donkey, is a French breed of donkey. It is one of the largest breeds, and jacks (donkey stallions) were bred to mares of the Poitevin horse breed to produce Poitevin mules, which were f ...

. The donkey was in the past the most highly valued animal in Mallorca, and could be sold for very high prices. In the early twentieth century it was prized outside the islands too, and many were exported to England, and later to the United States. The breed population fell rapidly in the first half of that century, and it came close to disappearing; the number of pure-bred animals is now stable. A

herd book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breede ...

was established for the Mallorquín donkey, as it was then known, in 1990. A breeders' association, now called the Associació de Criadors de Pura Raça Asenca de les Illes Balears, was formed. In 2002 the breed was officially recognised, and a genealogical stud book was established. From 1997 the Balearic donkey was listed by the

Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food ( es, Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, MAPA), is the Spanish government departments, department of the Government of Spain responsible for proposing and carrying out the government ...

, the Spanish ministry of agriculture, as "under special protection, in danger of extinction". In 2006, at the request of the breeders' association, the name of the breed was changed to "Raça Asenca Balear". Its conservation status was listed as "critical" by the FAO in 2007 and as "endangered" by the

SAVE Foundation Save, SAVE, or Saved may refer to: Places *Save (Garonne), a river in southern France *Save River (Africa), a river in Zimbabwe and Mozambique *Sava, a river in Eastern Europe also known as Save *Savè, Benin, a commune and city * Save, Govuro ...

in 2008. At the end of 2013 the total number recorded in the stud book was 464, all of which were in the Balearic Islands.

Characteristics

The Balearic is similar to the Catalan, but smaller and with lighter bone. Jacks stand about at the

withers The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle ar ...

and weigh about , while jennies stand about and weigh about . The coat is black or nearly black in colour, shading to pale on the belly, muzzle and surround of the eyes.

Use

Before the

mechanisation of agriculture Mechanised agriculture or agricultural mechanization is the use of machinery and equipment, ranging from simple and basic hand tools to more sophisticated, motorized equipment and machinery, to perform agricultural operations. In modern times, po ...

, Balearic mares were used in all kinds of agricultural work, both for burden, carrying sacks of olives and the like, and for draught, pulling small carts; jacks were used to sire mules.

References

{{Donkey breeds of Spain and Portugal Balearic Islands Donkey breeds originating in Spain Donkey breeds