CHAMPAIGN, ILL. (WAND) - Congratulations! It's a donkey? Over at the U of I Veterinary Teaching Hospital, they're helping out some special guests.
"A very special breed. It's a French breed called Baudet de Poitou," said Dr. Giorgia Podico, clinical instructor at the U of I.
They're one of the oldest breeds dating back to the middle ages, and are also considered endangered. With only around four hundred left world-wide. Here's what they're doing to help over at the U of I.
"So that's also why their number decreased, because the use of mules in other cultures decreased. So they kinda lost their actual purpose. We are styling them, doing research and we are attempting to breed them," said Dr. Podico.
Get a chance to meet Sophie and Sourbette. Who Dr. Podico describes as stubborn, sweet and unique.
"They for sure have their own personalities, but they're both very sweet," said Dr. Podico.
It's not every day you can catch a rare French donkey grazing on campus. By the end of the month, they'll be sent back to Vermont for the winter. Dr. Podico says the percentage of success in breeding donkeys is low in general, hoping for at least one more pregnancy before they go.
"It's been very very challenging. So we have recently inseminated both of them last week. So we're still crossing our fingers that in two weeks they're both going to be pregnant," said Dr. Podico.
Dr. Podico said she is proud of the work she and her team have done.Â
"Studying the donkey reproductive biology, so I hope that all this work that we're spending is going to hopefully improve their chances. And make more of them," said Dr. Podico.
