This little animal's mother was a sheep, it's father was a goat..it is dubbed a Geep. Here is the article. It's interesting, but, not that unbelievable. Goats and Sheep are similar, though I much prefer Goats, who seem smarter, nicer and let's face it, adorable. Where as, Sheep, are only cute while young and tend to grow up to be large bullies with no sense of humor, in my personal experience.
But, I learned long ago, that animals who belong to the same Genus, can mate, even if they are technically different species. This brings me back to a post I did on our huge ancient tom Cat, Happy, who, I always thought was part Bob Cat. He was a wild feral kitten when we found him. Now, he's family. But, readers on here, who are usually very astute when it comes to animal knowledge, accused me of being fanciful. I decided to keep my mouth shut, what did it matter really? Until I found photos like this..
There are more of them, than you'd think, if you really look. Definitely a hybrid. And not impossible, if you know that all Felines belong to the same Genus.
It's like a Mule. A Donkey and a Horse are the same Genus. Equine. If they mate, they create a new species called a Mule. But, did you know two Mules can not procreate? Nope. The offspring of different species, but, same genus matings are almost always sterile. So, in theory, a Bear (Ursus Major) could mate with a Raccoon (Ursus Minor), they are the same Genus. But, the birth would likely kill the Coon or if reversed, puzzle the Bear. Who might just destroy the weird runts thinking they were aberrations. Nature is fascinating. Sometimes, I wonder if random Genus matings account for sightings of so called Paranormal animals, like Chupacabra?
Of course, my theory has to take into account idiots who think a mangy Black Bear is a Bigfoot. But, we could figure extreme Human stupidity into the equation for proper percentages. 'Shrugs'.
6 comments:
I believe you. There is a drive through exotic animal place in Missouri that has Zebra-Donkeys.(Zdonks)
We are on the hunt for a 'mystery' animal here. It's feline and 'cloudy' colored with Siamese/tiger markings and blue eyes. It has a bobbed tail. The neighbor kid just came to the door claiming to spot it on our roof. I barely saw it, it's fast. I figure we'll get it tamed eventually. It's sneak eating with the monkey pack. Been here a week now.
ps..I'd like to see a Z-donk. It sounds cute.
This post reminded me of the first time I ever saw an Iowa Bob Cat. No story really, I was just sitting on the bank of a creek in my backyard and he strolled by about ten feet away. I remember being awed by the size and muscle structure of him and feeling soooo lucky to see him up close. He spotted me and, whoosh, he was gone. I could hardly breathe from excitement. That memory stayed with me, obviously.
Another time I was driving home from work (totally sober) on a remote stretch of blacktop about 4 am when something ran in front of my car and froze in the headlights. I braked and came to a stop, just missing it. It was feline and Mountain Lion size, but, it was black and white like a house cat. I never figured that one out, but, I know what I saw. It was right in the lights.
just because some SELECTED and VERY VIEW species can interbreed does not mean all in the same Genus can.
Seriously... half knowledge is worse than no knowledge.
Is Happy still living? He is the most gorgeous cat I have ever seen.
I can't tell from the picture, but is he a polydactyl? His head shape and arms (thick bone) remind me of my tiger tabby with huge "thumbs"--she's a Hemingway cat with the extra digit mutation and so beautiful.
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