The endangered Catalonian donkey breed: The main ancestor of the American ass or mammoth

The Catalonian donkey is an endangered local donkey breed located in several Pyrenean and pre-Pyrenean regions of the Catalonian area (Northeast Spain). Following the rules of action marked by the FAO Expert Consultation for the identification and study of possible stocks of conservation, this work undertakes the initial action points, giving a generic description of the population as to their origin and phylogenetic relationships, existent relationships with other worldwide breeds, censused sizes, and future perspectives of the same. A morphological description is carried out with the objective of seating bases for breed characterization and carrying out a proposal of racial standard in order to create and manage the future Stud Book of the Catalonian donkey breed.