A zoo in the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea has welcomed its latest arrival – a zebroid, or zonkey. Named Telegraph by keepers at the Taigan zoo park in southern Crimea, the foal's head and body are the solid brown of a donkey, while his legs have the characteristic black stripes of a zebra.

Oleg Zubkov, director of the private zoo near Simferopol, said Telegraph was very popular with visitors. He said Telegraph's mother, a zebra, had not had a mate for a long time and had been lonely and uncomfortable in her enclosure. "So on the advice of a zoologist we moved her in with several other hooved animals and she really liked the donkey. As a result of their affection for one another we've gotten Telegraph."

Cross-breeding between zebras and other members of the equine family is not unheard of, although it is rare that the zebra is the mother. The breeding of zonkeys or other hybrids is normally frowned upon by the zoo community.

"Such things don't happen in civilised zoos, but can occur at private zoos or on farms," said Anna Kachurovskaya, a spokeswoman for Moscow zoo. "This sort of marketing is not justified or scientific … zoos are for preserving wild species, that is one of their most important goals."

Telegraph was named after a local newspaper that recently celebrated its fifth anniversary.