Akademik

n.

An animal that's a hybrid of a zebra and a horse.

In addition to their five horses, the Elders own Zeb, a 10-year-old zebra.

"It's always been something I've wanted," Clarence said. "I wanted one for the challenge and just to be different."

The Elders bought Zeb from a ranch near Loma, Colo., for $8,000.

They cannot ride Zeb because a zebra's back cannot support the weight of a rider.

But he was bred to three of the Elders' mares, and they are expecting three "zorses" this spring.

— "North Dakota News Briefs," The Associated Press, October 20, 2002

Two dozen Loganville first graders giggled and gawked as dog trainer Jennifer Maginnis whistled Shep, her prize-winning border collie, through his paces.

Maginnis gave a command and Shep darted one way, herding a small clutch of sheep up a hill. Then she whistled a second signal and Shep tore off in another direction, moving the sheep back where they had been before. "I wish my dog was smart like that," 7-year-old Emerald Lane said.

But smart, sheep-steering dogs weren't the only impressive animals Emerald and her classmates found during a recent visit to Bluesprings Farm.

"We got to see a zebra!" said Emerald. ...

Soon he expects to have a new critter vying for affection. A pony was expecting and the suspected father was the zebra. Which of course, means the new addition to the farm will be a . . .

"It's a zorse," Baird said, with a laugh. "Because the kids named it that."

— Joe Earle, "In Loganville, travel mementos graze and entertain children," The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, May 12, 1994