A foal is a baby donkey. Grown male donkeys are jacks, and grown females are jennets. Although resembling a horse, donkeys have several unique characteristics, including longer ears, larger eyes, stronger hooves, and a distinct braying call.
History
Donkeys were first domesticated in Europe from the wild African donkeys of Nubia. Not only do donkeys resemble horses and zebras, but they also have a common ancestor: Dinohippus, which means terrible horse. However, the name is misleading, for this prehistoric creature that roamed North America between 5 and 13 million years ago was neither very large nor particularly terrible. Going back further in time, we discover Eohippus, the dawn horse, a tiny horse-like mammal that lived shortly after dinosaurs went extinct. From this creature, horses adapted by growing larger and faster, enabling them to compete and survive as predators also grew larger.