- [Narrator] Riddle me this.
What's got black and white stripes and brays like a donkey?
(donkey brays)
The answer, a zonky.
Yeah, that's actually a thing.
His name is Zippy, and it's no wonder.
Look at him go.
Zippy is what you get
when you literally cross a donkey named Raj
and a zebra named Ziggy.
Let's start with Raj.
- He's quite playful, quite noisy,
but he's got a really kind nature.
So yeah, he's a lovely character.
- [Narrator] Here at Trackside Farm in Somerset, England,
six year old Raj runs the show.
The only male donkey in the field,
he's got his pick of eight females.
He also gets daily pampering
and as much fresh green grass as his heart desires.
But when this sleek set of stripes
walked into his world, everything changed.
Meet Ziggy the zebra.
Native to the African Savannah,
Ziggy was born in captivity in Germany.
Unwanted and without a home,
Kristine managed to get her over to the UK
under a government license for dangerous wild animals.
It's legal to own a zebra in Britain,
but not exactly advisable.
- She was very wild when I got her,
couldn't get near her or anything like that,
but I've got her very friendly, she trusts me,
and we've formed a really good relationship.
There's still moments when she'll suddenly spook and jump,
(donkey brays)
so you've got to be very careful still.
You know, you can't forget that she is a wild animal.
- [Narrator] Since Ziggy's arrival,
Prince Raj hasn't displayed too much interest
in getting to know his exotic herdmate,
or maybe that's what he'd have you believe.
For two years,
they've pretty much minded their own business.
But one day Kristine noticed Ziggy was a bit off.
- I noticed that she was acting a little bit different.
She weren't running around quite so much.
She'd had gone just a tiny little bit calmer.
- [Narrator] And then one morning, to her absolute shock,
Kristine found that Ziggy had given birth.
As it turns out, it's actually extremely rare
for a zebra to breed successfully with a donkey.
The two animals have a different number of chromosomes,
which means embryos usually fail.
But nature has its strange ways,
and as a result, Zippy the zonky entered the world.
Animal hybrids are highly controversial,
often raised purely for profit.
Many suffer birth defects
and others become difficult to handle,
which is why mixed species like Zippy
should never be the goal.
But here he was, a healthy little tyke, and here he'll stay.
A life on the farm.
So how does a zonky do?
- [Kristine] Zippy is definitely more zebra than donkey.
He is a little bit more, you know,
sketchy of things and noises,
whereas donkey is so relaxed and laid back.
And he is so strong.
So when I'm leading him,
if I was to take him down the road or around the yard,
it will take a couple of us to hold him.
- [Narrator] Zippy gets his stripes from his mom,
but his energy from his dad.
- Zippy is really cheeky.
He starting to get a little bit randy.
He would start chasing the other donkeys.
You can certainly see he's maturing a little bit.
- [Narrator] Donkeys reach sexual maturity
around two years old.
Zebras, not until six years.
Wait, Zippy's not even a year old.
Not to worry though.
As with most hybrid animals,
this killer crossover is almost certainly sterile.
Still though, Kristine's gotta keep an eye on Raj and Ziggy
to make sure their odd animal friendship
doesn't result in more zonkies.
(donkey brays)
Zippy is plenty.
(zebra brays)
A pair of Dalmatians and a zebra.
Wait, but how and where does that kinda thing happen?
At the Free To Be Wild rehab center in Zimbabwe,
where baby orphaned animals are rescued
and given a second chance at life.
Let's start with the spotted sisters, Indigo and Bindi.
- This is Indigo.
She's got one blue eye, or an indigo colored eye
and her sister Bindi.
Indigo is really sassy.
Yeah, she's a real madame.
And Bindi is the gentle, friendly giant of the two.
They were rescue puppies from a puppy mill.
Their mom, we believe, was forced to breed over 170 puppies.
I'd say that was to make money,
purely out of the fact that they're Dalmations.
- [Narrator] And here we thought 101 was excessive.
Centuries of intensive breeding
to create that distinctive spotty coat
has led to an unfortunate genetic condition
that affects almost a third of all Dalmatians, hearing loss.
- This is Indigo here, and she can't hear anything.
Hello? (whistles)
(laughs) Hello.
She's stone deaf, and her sister's half deaf.
- [Narrator] A life without nature's sweet soundtrack
sounds rough, but not to worry.
Jo has his ears perked.
They'll be by his side for life,
which isn't the case for most of the animals
who pass through here,
like their black and white striped best mate,
City Boy the zebra.
About a year or so ago,
this beautiful bud was found wandering the bush alone
after his mother had been killed by lions.
He was only a few days old when some kind folks found him
and called Jo for help.
- For us, there was no option.
They phoned us and they said,
"Would you help with City Boy?"
So we don't really think about it.
We just say absolutely.
We get in the car and we go there and we grab him.
He was only about yay high and so big in the beginning.
- [Narrator] City Boy and the sisters
quickly struck up a friendship,
and filled their days with running and playing.
They must've found something special in common.
Either that, or they just dig each other's fashion sense.
- I don't know what you call them, a herd or a pack,
but spots and stripes.
They really, really enjoy each other.
I don't think there's anyone else
that we could take with City Boy on a walk like this.
- [Narrator] Fun fact, Dalmatians were originally bred
to accompany horse drawn carriages in 18th century Britain
where speed, stamina, and calmness around horses
were the main requirements.
So it's no surprise that their skills play well
with a zebra, too.
With the help of the pups,
City Boy's gaining some confidence,
which will one day lead to his independence.
Eventually he'll roam free in a 17,000 acre private reserve
maintained by Jo's family.
- The more time he can spend in the wild,
the more acclimatized will become to the wild
and the easier the transition will be for him.
The more time they spend in their natural environment,
the better, full-stop, without doubt.
Same for all animals.
- [Narrator] Speaking of all animals,
turns out the Dalmatians have a way
with more than just zebras.
- [Jo] The latest orphan that came in
was a baby common duiker.
They said it was found in the bush.
Often that's the case, they say it was found,
but nine times out of 10, the mother's been hunted,
and then the people feel bad when they do find the orphan.
- [Narrator] Many rescued orphans die of stress.
If he's gonna keep this baby alive,
Jo's gonna need backup.
- We've realized that the best thing
to make that orphan feel comfortable
is introducing it to Indigo and Bindi.
They really seem to settle it down.
If you can get them to relax
and try and interact with another species
that's already living there and settled there,
I really believe that animals can pick up on that vibe.
- [Narrator] The confused little one
thinks Bindi might have milk on hand.
- [Jo] Give him a bottle. (Bindi yelps)
- [Narrator] Nope, only love.
It's all good.
Jo's got a bottle.
(gentle upbeat music)
- I don't think we've had one orphan
that's taken badly to them.
We've got other dogs, and we can't do it with other dogs.
We only use these two dogs.
If you see the Dalmations interacting with the orphans,
you can see the maternal instinct coming out in them.
But if you see them interact with City Boy,
it's more of a friendship and it's more of an equal.
And we're in this together.
- [Narrator] The teenager is testing the waters of adulthood
evidenced by his clear curiosity.
The time for him to move out on his own is approaching fast.
- You can't put a price on that feeling
of the animal going free into its natural environment
and where it's supposed to be.
- [Narrator] 'Til that day comes,
there's still time to squeeze in
a couple more rounds of spots versus stripes.
(gentle upbeat music)