A zedonk (a zebra/donkey hybrid) at a farm market in Spring Lake, Fla., attacked a worker last weekend, biting the man on his feet and legs as he attempted to crawl away.
Hernando Today reported that James Oleson, 34, was painting an outer perimeter fence when the zedonk ducked under its own enclosure fence to bite him on the foot. Oleson was knocked to the ground and the animal continued to bite at his feet and legs as he crawled under the outer fence. The attack resulted in cuts and bruises.
Oleson received a tetanus shot and the zedonk will be quarantined for 14 days. Read about zoonotic disease potentially transmitted from equids to humans via bites.
Along with the citrus business, Boyett's Grove is also an animal attraction with exotic birds, monkeys, alligators, pigs, and deer. And at least one zedonk.
The man who allegedly videotaped the 2005 incident in which a Washington man died after having sex with a horse is back in the news.
MSNBC reports James Tait, 58, of Columbiaville, Tenn, was arrested last week and charged with felony animal cruelty after police investigated a citizen's e-mail tip containing a photo of a man having sex with a pony. Farm owner Kenny Thomason, 44, was charged with two counts of the same crime.
Authorities found horses, ponies, goats, and dogs on the farm. Capt. Jimmy Tennyson told MSNBC authorities have recovered pictures of Tait engaging in the acts with a horse.
In 2005, police identified Tait as the man who filmed the fatal encounter between Kenneth Pinyan and a horse in Enumclaw, Wash. Pinyan later died of internal injuries. Investigators looking into that incident said they found numerous videos of Tait and others engaging in bestiality, which at the time wasn't illegal in Washington (that's since changed). He entered an Alford plea to charges of criminal trespassing and was sentenced to one year probation and a $300 fine.
You can read more at MSNBC.
To end on a lighter note, photographer Barbara Livingston (a frequent contributor to The Horse and our sister publication The Blood-Horse) has a beautiful new book out on unusual and uniquely colored horses. (And it even includes a zedonk! See how that came full circle?)
I'm especially fond of this one as my own horse made the cut by way of a rather unique facial marking. Check out a video interview with Barbara and see behind-the-scenes footage of Duncan's photo shoot.
