Fourth rare donkey born at farm in Britain

LONDON (Reuters) - The fourth foal of a breed of donkey rarer than the giant panda has been born in the space of a fortnight at a British farm.

Tizer the Poitou donkey joined three cousins also born this month at Woodford Farm in Pennington in the southern English county of Hampshire, the farm said.

In 1978, there were only 48 of the endangered species left in the world -- a figure that has risen to around 600 thanks to breeding programs.

However, only two were born in Britain last year and less than 30 worldwide, and the breed remains rarer than the giant panda, of which there are around 1,600 known globally.

"The arrival of the fourth new baby Poitou donkey in the last fortnight has elevated our Poitou donkey survival program with unexpected success," said a spokesman for the farm -- one of a handful of breeding centers around the world.