Cyprus donkey
Cyprus donkeys
Country of originCyprus

The Cyprus donkey is the donkey breed of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.[1] There are two principal strains: a large dark-coloured type with a pale belly, probably of European origin; and a small grey African type which represents about 20% of the total population, which in 2002 was estimated at 2200–2700.[2]: 26 

The Cypriot donkey was an integral component of rural life from prehistoric times until the 20th century. Archimandrite Kyprianos in 1788 records that feral donkeys existed in the mountainous regions of Akamas and Karpasia.[3]

Some hundreds of Cyprus donkeys live in a feral state on the Karpass Peninsula in the Turkish-controlled northern part of Cyprus. They were abandoned there by Greek Cypriot farmers during the Turkish invasion in 1974. In 2008, a group of Greek and Turkish Cypriots organized to save the animals from extinction after ten of them were found shot dead.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Breed data sheet: Cyprus/Cyprus. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed December 2013.
  2. ↑ Waltraud Kugler, Hans-Peter Grunenfelder, Elli Broxham (2008). Donkey Breeds in Europe: Inventory, Description, Need for Action, Conservation; Report 2007/2008. St. Gallen, Switzerland: Monitoring Institute for Rare Breeds and Seeds in Europe. Archived 2 September 2009.
  3. ↑ Αρχιμανδρίτης Κυπριανός (1788). Iστορία Xρονολογική της Nήσου Kύπρου. Eνετίησιν: Παρά Νικολάω Γλυκεί τω εξ Ιωαννίνων. p. 369.
  4. ↑ "Donkey Campaign Unites Cypriots". London: BBC. 22 April 2008. Accessed November 2016.
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