In a very rare occurrence in the animal world, a crossbreed of a zebra and a donkey was born last week.

According to the Science World Report, the 'Zonkey' was born last Saturday at an animal reserve in Florence, Italy to its donkey mother, Jade, and zebra father, Martin. The baby 'Zonkey' was named Ippo.

The report noted that the baby zebra-donkey was not a product of intentional breeding, but that the zebra and the donkey were actually attracted to each other and were "struck by cupid's arrow, the report noted.

It is a cross between an endangered breed of donkey from Amiata and a Zebra who were rescued from a failing zoo and were shifted to the centre.

Ippo is the only one of its kind to be born in Italy. It looks like a typical donkey but has sebra stripes on his body and legs.

About a year ago, owners of the reserve constructed a fence to keep Martin and Jade from each other, but it seems that the animals proved to the saying "Love has no boundaries." The zebra had somehow found a way to "intrude" into the donkey's stable, resulting in an intimate encounter that produced their one-of-a-kind love child.

The Florence reserve where Ippo iscurrently lives is home to animals who were rescued from various private zoos in Italy.