Donkey or mule?
How to tell them apart
A mule has a donkey father and a horse mother; a hinny has a horse father and a donkey mother.
Quick answers
They differ on 1 of the 8 quick answers: kept as a pet.
| Question | Donkey | Mule |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | Mammal | Mammal |
| Carnivore? | No, herbivore | No, herbivore |
| Dangerous? | No | No |
| Domesticated? | Yes | Yes |
| Awake when? | Daytime | Daytime |
| Hibernates? | No | No |
| Kept as a pet? differs | Sometimes | No |
| Do people eat it? | In places | In places |
At a glance
| Question | Donkey | Mule |
|---|---|---|
| Found in | Worldwide | Worldwide |
| Habitat differs | Farmland, Desert, Scrub | – |
| Size | Large | Large |
| Height differs | Under 90 cm to about 150 cm at the shoulder | Up to 180 cm at the withers (large draught mules) |
| Weight differs | About 250 kg on average | Typically about 370–460 kg |
| Legs | 4 | 4 |
| Covered in | Fur | Fur |
| Lives | In herds | In herds |
| Lives for differs | 30–50 years | 30–40 years |
| Can fly | No | No |
| Swims | Yes | Yes |
| Lays eggs | No | No |
About each
Donkey
A domesticated member of the horse family, bred from the African wild ass some 5,000–7,000 years ago and used mainly as a working animal ever since. There are more than 40 million donkeys worldwide.
Mule
A hybrid of a male donkey and a female horse, and more common than the hinny, the reverse cross. Mules are more patient, hardier and longer-lived than horses, and are thought less stubborn and more intelligent than donkeys. They come in any colour a horse or donkey can be.
Sources
Last reviewed . The answers and notes come from each animal's own page, where every source is listed.
How each answer is decided: How we answer. More look-alikes: Side by side.