Episode 491: The Jumar
About this episode
This episode explores the mystery of the jumar, a supposed hybrid between a horse and a cow, and discusses its origins and biological feasibility.
Further reading: http://messybeast.com/genetics/hybrid-equines.htm Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. I stumbled across an interesting mystery animal recently and thought it would make a great topic for a Patreon episode. It’s supposed to be a hybrid animal, but as we’ll soon learn, it can’t possibly be what it’s said to be. The animal is called a jumar or jumart, or sometimes a kumrah. The oldest record of a jumar dates to 1546 but there are many other accounts up to the beginning of the 20th century. The jumar is supposed to be the hybrid offspring of a horse and a cow, usually a bull and a mare. Sometimes it was supposed to be the offspring of a bull and a donkey mare. Whatever its supposed origins, the jumar was said to look like a horse except for cow-like hindquarters and head, although with no horns. The hooves were usually solid like a horse’s hooves but occasionally cloven. A jumar was supposed to be stronger but smaller than an ordinary mule, which is a cross between a horse and a donkey. There are plenty of reports of jumars, including individuals examined by naturalists, so it’s obviously a real animal. Could it really be a…
People in this episode
Host: Kate Shaw
Topics covered
- hybrid animals
- jumar
- animal genetics
- natural history
- mystery animals
Keywords
- jumar
- hybrid
- horse
- cow
- naturalists
- animal genetics
- mule
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Patreon
Books & works: Strange Animals Podcast
More episodes of Strange Animals Podcast
- Episode 494: Four Water Animals
- Episode 493: NEW The Mystery of Esconichthys and Friends
- Episode 492: Basilosaurids
- Episode 490: Ipnops and Other Deep-Sea Fish
- Episode 489: Animal Artists
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Strange Animals Podcast podcast page.