The insights of smallholder farmers on special attributes of the genetically robust mule

Abstract

Abstract. Desta TT, Teklemariam H, Mulugeta T. 2022. The insight of smallholder farmers on special attributes of the genetically robust mule. Biodiversitas 23: 3561-3566. A mule (Equus asinus X Equus caballus) is the offspring of a jack, a mature male donkey, and a mare, a mature female horse. Mule is the artifact of distant hybridization, and interspecific breeding has endowed mule with appreciable hardiness. In the history of humans, mule breeding represents a novel undying, and successful traditional biotechnology. This qualitative study reports the advantages and disadvantages of using mules as working and riding equid and insights of smallholder farmers on mule’s behavior and robustness. For most of the socio-economically important traits reported mule surpasses both the parental species, donkey and horse. This superiority is most likely associated with the genetic robustness of mules aroused from interspecific hybridization. It was reported that a mare mule is more intelligent, and quite the opposite, it is more aggressive than its male counterpart. Presumably, X-inactivation in distant hybrid animals like mules possessing heterologous X-chromosomes is suppressed; consequently, some of the X-chromosome genes might be escaped the inactivation process which makes the mare mule produce more of the protein products and surpass its male counterpart. The general sterility of mare mule may have also made it to invest virtually none in the costly task, nurturing of offspring. Mule's sterility and aggression make some of the community members develop negative insights. Regardless of this, the mule is highly appreciated for the various services it deliverstothe rural community.

Maintaining traditional values and looking for novel uses assure equines' survival as a species

“…Donkeys and mules can be used as pack animals in remote and mountainous areas (Starkey & Mudamburi, 2022). According to Desta et al (2022), mules can travel over terrain that most vehicles cannot reach. If thick smoke or cloudy weather makes it difficult for aeroplanes and helicopters to fly, the equines can still contribute to the control of wildfires by transporting supplies to firefighters camped in remote regions (McKenna, 2022).…”

“…Equine production is an unquestionably small family business in Ethiopia and other developing nations. Plantation forestry and crop production, which encroach on grazing lands to feed the ever‐increasing human population, have reduced the feed supply for equines and sibling livestock species (Desta et al., 2022, 2023). Smallholder farmers have prioritised raising versatile Bovines because of the scarcity of feed.…”

GnRH Vaccine could Suppress Serum Testosterone in Stallion Mules

“…Mules were intelligent, not naturally aggressive, and were preferred for military work in the mountain, more than horses and donkeys [1,2]. They are infertile but still able to produce sex hormone, which more or less influence on aggressiveness or unwanted behavior [3,4]. Therefore, stallion mules usually be castrated before work training.…”

GnRH Vaccine Could Suppress Serum Testosterone in Stallion Mules

“…Mules are intelligent, not naturally aggressive, and are preferred for military work in the mountains over horses and donkeys [ 1 , 2 ]. Despite being infertile, the stallion mules exhibit normal testosterone synthesis, which may influence the stallion’s aggressiveness or other undesirable behavior towards humans [ 3 , 4 ]. Therefore, stallion mules are usually castrated before work training.…”