Since ancient times, humans have sometimes interbreed between animals for the sake of science. Animals that cross-breed are called hybrid animals. The first hybrid animal discovered was an animal shaped like a horse. Scientists explain that the hybrid animal is 4,500 years old and was found in a royal tomb in Syria. This discovery then shows the beginning of modern civilization. The DNA produced from the bones of the hybrid animal showed a cross between a local donkey and a Syrian wild donkey. In Syria itself at that time wild soybeans had become extinct about a century ago. University of Paris researcher Eva Maria Geigl and colleagues say the animal is believed to be a 'kunga', a mysterious horse-like creature with a donkey-like tail that appeared on royal seals from early Bronze Age Syria and Mesopotamia. However, Eva Maria Geigl said that breeding these hybrid animals was not easy. There needs to be a special strategy to be able to successfully breed them.
"But breeding them will not be easy because special strategies will be required to catch the very fast Syrian wild donkeys and bring them to the female donkeys so they can produce hybrids," he said.
"Kungas are bred with hard work and are not as good as horses," he added.
At the time of discovery, archaeologists were astonished because the shape is similar to a horse, but slightly different in shape. Moreover, horses are not known to have existed in the area until 500 years later. As for the beginning, people at that time thought of interbreeding the animal concerned because they saw it in the wild. Domestic donkeys are more docile but slow on the battlefield while wild donkeys are fast but overly aggressive, so a combination of the two will result in a more balanced animal. Around 4,000 ago, horses became known in the region. Kunga as a hybrid animal at that time may no longer be bred because the existing horse can fulfill its role.
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