Pat's Wildways: Donkey Milk Anyone?

I’m here in Serbia now doing a biodiversity assessment for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and as usual, the field trip portions of this study are revealing interesting aspects of nature conservation that open my eyes to new things. Now, it is donkey milk that has captured my fancy. 

My team visited the Stado Donkey Farm, a private facility that was on our way to the Stara Planina Nature Park, and well worth a visit.  This farm is dedicated to preserving rare Serbian breeds of domesticated animals, a type of biodiversity most of us don’t even consider, but important in these parts.  As elsewhere though, this conservation effort receives little outside support and they have to be creative in developing income sources. What could be better than producing donkey milk?

Sergej Ivanov, the farm owner, was happy to welcome my team and to show us his work. Besides Serbian donkeys, he has rare species of goats, sheep and cattle that he exhibits for the public. But mainly he is all about donkeys and has more than a hundred of them! About a dozen of these animals are milked a few times a day, and this milk is sold raw to local people from nearby towns in Serbia and Bulgaria for more than 30 times the price of normal cow’s milk. Donkey milk is valued as a nutritious source for babies and senior citizens and is said to be good for the body’s organs. When this milk is heated by pasteurization or turned into cheese, the active components that are especially useful are lost. It can, however, be frozen or freeze-dried without losing its potency, so some is shipped to Belgrade and even to the United States.  If you look at Amazon, you can find dried donkey milk for about $10/ounce if you are so inclined.

We arrived at “lunchtime” for the donkey herd and they were all lined up with their heads poking through the fence as they consumed fresh hay. Sergei pointed out the few males in the herd, and described the personalities and histories of the various donkeys in his care.  You could tell he loved them. A few cats staked out the hay while the donkeys ate, performing the useful pest control service of mouse removal. 

Sergei showed us around his 40-acre farm where he not only raises animals but also has now diversified his income by renting out a couple of cottages for people who enjoy “rural tourism.” Serbia is trying to draw more people into the countryside.  During our drives around the area we saw many vacant houses and deserted villages. Fewer people still graze animals in the countryside and this has led to loss of biodiversity as forests are expanding to replace pastures and meadows that harbor many endangered and threated species of plants.

While Sergei was touring us around, local people were showing up to buy fresh milk, and a few cats and dogs were following us around, wanting petting and attention. One particular cat followed us all the way out to a distant field, as companionable as any dog. As a cat person myself, I loved this!

The fun really began after the farm tour. Sergei and a couple of his friends from town joined us on a porch as the sun was setting. I accompanied one farm worker out to the pen where the female donkeys were held. I watched as he milked two donkeys and extracted a couple of cups of milk. The female donkeys were calm and relaxed, and I stroked them as the farmhand did his work. A few baby donkeys were nearby. Donkeys only produce milk when they are nursing babies, so there was always enough left for them.

The pitcher of warm milk was placed on the table, and cups of strong local coffee were provided. Soon Sergei left the porch and poured some liquid from a large receptacle into a recycled plastic soda bottle. It was homemade rakia!  This strong brandy is made locally using various recipes. His stash was made from grapes but flavored with 30 different herbs.

As the sun set we all sat around the table drinking warm donkey milk fresh from the udder, some strong coffee, and the best brandy I’ve ever tasted.  The fellows chatted mostly in Serbian, but every now and again filled me in on their conversations. At one point they were talking about elections and one man, a rich hotel owner, loudly proclaimed that “senior citizens should not be allowed to vote — they have no stake in the future!”  I kept quiet of course.

It was no doubt the most memorable evening of my entire two-week project.

Pat Foster-Turley, Ph.D., is a zoologist on Amelia Island. She welcomes your nature questions and observations. [email protected]