BREEDING
All male donkeys in the sanctuary are castrated. Why? Because there’s a lot of inbreeding on the island and we try to avoid having weak babies. When a female donkey is ready to stand for the stallion, she is in use. When the male donkey approaches the mare, she will show this by champing (opening and shutting her mouth and laying her ears back), urinating and holding her tail up. Most mares will be in use for 5-7 days.
	When a donkey is pregnant, her gestation period is between 11-13 months. When a baby donkey is born, his sharp hoof is protected by a rubbery substance which peels off within hours of birth. Right after giving birth the mare is very fertile. To protect her newborn against the males, she leaves the group temporarily and takes her foal with her.
She returns after a couple of weeks, when the young animal is stronger. Because leaving the group in the sanctuary is not possible, we separate mother and child. Donkeys have a birth weight of approximately 25 kilograms (55lbs.). The shoulder height is about 60 centimeters (24 inches) when born. A donkey will not leave his mother until she’s having a new baby.

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Map to the sanctuary

Directions

Take Route 4a from the hotels and follow this road for 14 km, pass all the circles/roundabouts until you see a sign for the French Men’s Pass. Make a left turn onto the French Men’s Pass, then 1st left, 2nd right. On that dirt road you will find the Donkey Sanctuary after about 200 meters.

If you have a GPS device, navigate to these coordinates: N 12°48.974’ W 069°96.642’ This will bring you to the entrance of the Donkey Sanctuary.

Or use Google Maps Directions

Opening hours:

Everyday from 9:00 until 16:00. Closed only on January 1st.

Need transportation to get there?

Taxi Address Service +297 587 9900

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