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The story goes that Bad Ass was owned by a hunting
guide. As the hunting party went out, they were unexpectedly
confronted by a mountain lion. The horses threw their riders,
and the dogs scattered. Bad Ass threw the guide and then got down to
business!
Bad Ass picked up the mountain lion and began to
shake him. He threw the cat to the ground and stomped him to
death. When his job was done, Bad Ass began to
bray! One of the hunters who had earlier commented
on how ugly Bad Ass was said "he may be ugly, but that is one bad ass!"
Gerry Lukavic has written a song about
Bad Ass!
Mules are commonly regarded as 'stubborn,' however,
they are extremely intelligent and will not put themselves at
risk. They are extremely protective of their people as
evidenced by Bad Ass' behavior that day. If Bad Ass was not
confident that he could dispatch the cat, he would not have attempted
to do so.
Mules are hybrids and they cannot
reproduce. A mule is the product of a Jack donkey and a horse
mare. Hinnies are the product of a horse stallion and a
Jennet.
Mules can be absolutely beautiful - crosses with
Andalusians are particularly compelling. Mules are no longer bred
specifically to be pack animals; there are gaited mules and spotted
mules.
Mules are bred in various sizes including Standard
and Mammoth. Mammoth mules have an American Jackstock as the
sire, and there is an endangered breed of donkey known as 'Le Baudet du
Poitou' which used to be crossed with the French 'Mulassier'.
However, as there are less than 80 Poitou donkeys in existence, there
are no Mammoth mules from the Poitou donkey.
For more information please visit:
The
American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
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