At the beginning of the 20th century, more than 9,000 Cotentin donkeys (Equus asinus) were roaming the Normandy countryside. Domesticated since the Middle Ages, they transported milk jugs and ‘triolettes’ (maids sitting aside on donkeys). With a rustic and solid morphology, they have a beautiful dove-grey coat with a crucial black stripe on the back. Their well-balanced ears have brown edges and their legs can sometimes be striped. Naturally docile, they are well suited to transportation and harnessing. The Cotentin donkeys of the Domaine d’Esthine now accompany hikers on the paths of the Mont-Saint-Michel bay.