Cyprus donkey

{{Short description|Breed of donkey}} {{Infobox donkey | name = Cyprus donkey | image = Cyprus donkeys, Karpaz, Northern Cyprus.jpg | image_caption = Cyprus donkeys | image_alt = | features = | altname = | nickname = | country = [[Cyprus]] | group1 = | std1 = | group2 = | std2 = }}

The '''Cyprus donkey''' is the donkey breed of the Mediterranean island of [[Cyprus]].<ref name=dad>[http://dad.fao.org/ Breed data sheet: Cyprus/Cyprus]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed December 2013.</ref> There are two principal strains: a large dark-coloured type with a pale belly, probably of European origin; and a small grey African type which represents about 20% of the total population, which in 2002 was estimated at 2200–2700.{{r|mon|page=26}}

The Cypriot donkey was an integral component of rural life from prehistoric times until the 20th century. [[Archimandrite Kyprianos]] in 1788 records that feral donkeys existed in the mountainous regions of [[Akamas]] and [[Karpas Peninsula|Karpasia]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Αρχιμανδρίτης Κυπριανός |url=https://anemi.lib.uoc.gr/metadata/9/7/6/metadata-155-0000109.tkl |title=Iστορία Xρονολογική της Nήσου Kύπρου |publisher=Παρά Νικολάω Γλυκεί τω εξ Ιωαννίνων |year=1788 |location=Eνετίησιν |pages=369}}</ref>

Some hundreds of Cyprus donkeys live in a [[feral]] state on the [[Karpass Peninsula]] in the Turkish-controlled northern part of Cyprus. They were abandoned there by [[Greek Cypriot]] farmers during the [[Turkish invasion of Cyprus|Turkish invasion]] in 1974. In 2008, a group of Greek and [[Turkish Cypriots]] organized to save the animals from extinction after ten of them were found shot dead.<ref>{{cite news |title=Donkey Campaign Unites Cypriots |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7361353.stm |publisher=[[BBC]] |location=London |date=22 April 2008}} Accessed November 2016.</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|refs=

<ref name=mon>Waltraud Kugler, Hans-Peter Grunenfelder, Elli Broxham (2008). [https://web.archive.org/web/20090902110918/http://www.save-foundation.net/pdf/donkey.pdf ''Donkey Breeds in Europe: Inventory, Description, Need for Action, Conservation; Report 2007/2008'']. St. Gallen, Switzerland: Monitoring Institute for Rare Breeds and Seeds in Europe. Archived 2 September 2009.</ref>

}}

[[Category:Mammals of Europe]] [[Category:Donkey breeds originating in Cyprus]] [[Category:Donkey breeds]]