Thuringian Forest Donkey at the Hagenbeck Zoo, Hamburg (Germany)

The Thuringian Forest Donkey, Thüringer Waldesel in German, is a very old Central German domestic animal breed that was mainly kept in western Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. This donkey was previously known as the Mülleresel (miller's donkey) or Steinesel (stone donkey). Compared to other donkeys, the Thuringian Forest Donkey has a rather small head with upright ears and pronounced jaws. The coat consists of coarse hair and has a whorl in the lumbar region. It is light to dark stone-grey to grey-brown with a distinct black eel stripe and black shoulder cross. In addition, some specimens of the breed have dark leg stripes (like zebra stripes). Lips, ear edges, mane and tail tassel are very dark to black, whereas the donkey markings on the head (mouth and eye circles) are as light as possible. The Thuringian Forest Donkey has been considered an independent breed since 2019. The Thuringian Forest Donkey lives in the domestic animal area of ​​Hagenbeck Zoo together with the ponies.

The Hagenbeck Zoo (Tierpark Hagenbeck) is a zoo in Stellingen, Hamburg, Germany. The collection began in 1863 with animals that belonged to Carl Hagenbeck Sr. (1810–1887), a fishmonger who became an amateur animal collector. The park itself was founded by Carl Hagenbeck Jr. (1844–1913) in 1907 and it is still operated and owned by the Hagenbeck family today. It is known for being the first zoo to use open enclosures surrounded by moats, rather than barred cages, to better approximate animals' natural environments. Over the years, the zoo has gained a good reputation for successfully breeding rare and endangered species such as the Asian Elephant and the Siberian Tiger.