Donkeys are "natural wolf-preventers"? A myth debunked by the facts.
For a long time, it was taken for granted that the donkey was a sort of natural defense against the wolf. We're not talking about ancient or folkloric beliefs, but an idea that was openly circulating until fifteen years ago, recommended, repeated, and applied in the field. You could see flocks grazing with one or two donkeys in the middle, calm farmers, reassuring technicians. The donkey was presented as the animal that "scares the wolf," that is not preyed upon, that keeps danger at bay. It had become a widespread belief.
Today, we know that belief was wrong. And we know this not from theory, but from direct experience, because in the years that followed, donkeys began to be preyed upon more and more frequently. Not isolated incidents, not exceptional cases, but a recurring pattern that effectively put an end to that myth.
The reason is simple: the wolf doesn't reason according to legends, nor according to what man believes. The wolf observes, tests, evaluates, and learns. When over the past fifteen years he began to encounter more and more donkeys in the pastures, either introduced into herds or left as a deterrent, he did what he's always done. He studied their behavior. He saw that the donkey doesn't react like a horse, that it doesn't bolt explosively, that it doesn't run away for long distances. He saw that the donkey tends to stop, evaluate, and stay put. And he understood that, under certain conditions, the donkey is a viable prey.
Since then, in many areas, a decisive shift has occurred: some packs have learned to prey on donkeys. When a strategy works, the wolf memorizes it and transmits it. This is how a new predatory skill is born. And this is why today we can no longer speak of sporadic cases, but of a consolidated reality in various territories.
Even the donkey can be preyed upon by the wolf
One of the biggest mistakes has been to think of the donkey as a "smaller" or "less capable" horse. In reality, the donkey is a completely different animal, with its own specific ethology. The horse bases its survival on flight. The donkey bases its survival on evaluation. This characteristic makes it an extraordinary working animal, a companion, and a companion, but it also makes it extremely vulnerable to an intelligent predator like the wolf. The donkey doesn't run for long, has no explosive reactions, and has no strategies for dispersing the group. For a learning predator, all this means predictability.
Size doesn't change the substance. Large donkeys, like the Martina Franca donkeys, are no more protected than small ones. In fact, large donkey foals are among the most vulnerable animals of all. Small donkeys, often kept in family settings, agritourism, or on small farms, are even more exposed. They live in small groups, in quiet, silent, and predictable environments. This is precisely the type of environment that facilitates the wolf's learning. Even the mule, which many consider "stronger," isn't a solution: it lacks the speed of a horse or the protection of a structured pack.
Today, the donkey is everywhere: on dairy farms, on agritourism farms, on trekking excursions, and in families as pets. These very contexts, so precious from a human perspective, are often the most vulnerable from the perspective of predation. Fixed routines, calm animals, and the lack of nighttime surveillance. And this is where an uncomfortable but fundamental truth emerges: today, the wolf enters even small stables, small farms, and pens near homes. There are no longer automatically safe places.
At this point, the dog comes into play, but here too, we must be extremely clear. With donkeys, simply "putting a dog" isn't enough. In fact, a poorly chosen dog can be more dangerous than a complete lack of protection. Donkeys have a unique way of communicating, with slow movements, postures, and vocalizations that many dogs misinterpret. When a dog isn't accustomed to a donkey, it can stress it, chase it, be rejected by the group, and, in the worst cases, bite the foals. These incidents aren't the dogs' fault, but rather improvised choices and a complete lack of knowledge of donkey ethology.
Protection only works when it's well-constructed. With targeted selection, proper imprinting, and support during the introduction. It takes someone who truly knows both the dog and the donkey, who can read the dynamics and intervene before problems arise. We've been doing this for years, working with donkeys large and small, for milking, companionship, work, and trekking. We raise them alongside the dogs, observe their relationships, and build balance. And that's why, after being placed, what we receive are not emergencies or complaints, but thanks.
The final point is simple and must be stated unambiguously. The donkey has never been a natural wolf repellent. Believing this has exposed thousands of animals to enormous risks. Today, prevention exists and works, but it isn't made up of shortcuts or reassuring myths. It's made up of expertise, experience, and respect for ethology. The wolf acts wolf. The donkey acts donkey. It's up to us to stop telling ourselves fairy tales and build real, long-lasting protections.