In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different varieties, subspecies, species or genera through sexual reproduction. Generally, it means that each cell has genetic material from two different organisms, whereas an individual where some cells are derived from a different organism is called a chimera.[1] Hybrids are not always intermediates between their parents such as in blending inheritance (a now discredited theory in modern genetics by particulate inheritance), but can show hybrid vigor, sometimes growing larger or taller than either parent. The concept of a hybrid is interpreted differently in animal and plant breeding, where there is interest in the individual parentage. In genetics, attention is focused on the numbers of chromosomes. In taxonomy, a key question is how closely related the parent species  are.[clarification needed]

The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, Equus africanus, and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, Equus africanus asinus, or as a separate species, Equus asinus.[1]: 1  It was domesticated in Africa some 5000–7000  years ago,[1]: 2 [2]: 3715 [3] and has been used mainly as a working animal since that time.

Zonkey är det engelska namnet på den sterila  avkomman av en zebra och en åsna. De känns igen på de randiga benen och huvudet. Namnet är en kombination av engelskans donkey och zebra. Det fanns fyra registrerade zonkeys i Sverige år 2015.[1][2]

Zonkeys in Tijuana, Mexico are donkeys (also known as burros in Mexico and the Southwestern United States; burro is the Spanish word for donkey) painted with fake zebra stripes, so that tourists will pay the owner to appear in souvenir photos with them.[1] They should not be confused with zebroids, zebra hybrids which are also sometimes called zonkeys.