The term hybrid has two meanings in the field of biology. The first meaning surrounds the interbreeding between two animals, or plants, taxa. Taxa, which is plural for taxon, are the units used in the scientific classification of organisms. This use of the word hybrid covers different genus, subspecies, et cetera. The second meaning of the term “hybrid,” in the biological community, is the cross between populations, breeds or cultivars of a specific species.
Hybrid animals enchant and excite us. At Wild Florida, we provide exciting airboat tours and educational animal interactions for our guests. Learning about natural and engineered species of animals is enriching. One of the things that makes hybrid animals so fascinating is their capability of taking on different aspects of each parents appearance, as well as bits of their wild nature and temperament. Studied by Charles Darwin and bred since the 1800s, zebroids, or zebra hybrids, are a rare and beautiful sight. Zebroids are practical because of their horse-like body shape, but they’re feisty and more difficult to handle than a purebred horse. The mule, however, is one of the most useful hybrid animals ever created. Because of the compatible combination of a jack (male donkey) and a mare, a mule has the hardiness and the intelligence of its father with the strength and fineness of its mother. Mules require less food and are stronger than horses of similar size.
We’ve all heard of mules, zorses and ligers, but have you ever heard of a spider goat? It’s not a joke--while they lack eight legs, these seemingly normal looking goats are actually one seventy-thousandth arachnid. The genes used were the spiders silk-making genes, once the goats reach a mature age, a silk protein appears in their mammary glands. So you can essentially milk the goat for spider-silk fibers.
While very little interspecies mingling takes place in these creatures natural habitat, it has and does occur. Many wildlife parks, like the Wild Florida nature park, have zebroids and other hybrid creatures on display. Visit Wild Florida, your airboat tour adventure enthusiasts, today to get up close and personal with a zedonk and zorse.
