The Easter story has only a few animals associated with it…
Donkey
“We all know that a donkey carried Mary to Bethlehem and on the trip to Egypt,” Powell said. “Jesus rode a donkey to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and the significance of Jesus’ riding a donkey was that he was coming in peace.
“The Nubian donkey has a cross on its back because it was said that this breed of donkeys carried Jesus to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.”
Powell said, according to legend, the donkey knew what that Jesus was facing a trial and much suffering. Seeing the tragic event of Jesus’ crucifixion, the donkey wished that he had been able to carry the cross for Jesus and bear his burden. The donkey could not bear the sight of the cross and turned its head away until it was “finished” because of its love for Jesus.
( source- https://m.troymessenger.com/2015/04/04/thy-cross-ill-carry-the-legend-of-the-jerusalem-donkey/)
“ if you look closely, all donkeys across the world, whether they are grazing in pastures or gracing the big screen, share one mysterious feature — they have a dark cross on their backs, running down their spines and across their shoulders. “They’ve all got them, even the dark ones.”
The mystery of the donkey’s cross is less symbolic in the scientific realm.
Researchers believe the same gene that causes a camouflaging colour in modern horses is behind the stripes on the coats of several other animals in the horse family.
Different kinds of zebra, the kulan, donkeys and modern horses separated from each other about 3 million years ago, and their common ancestor most likely had some sort of striping or banding, according to Claire Wade, professor of computational biology and animal genetics at the University of Sydney.
“You have the full range from the zebras that are striped all over, then you have the Somali wild asses which have a dorsal stripe and banding on their legs, and then you have the donkey which has the dorsal stripe and the shoulder stripe,” she said.
( source- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-12/donkeys-where-science-religion-and-pop-culture-collide/10356576 )
There is a tendency to treat donkeys are ‘little horses’ , but donkeys are different….
Easter bunny
The Easter Bunny – also called the Easter Rabbit or Easter Hare – is a folkloric figure and symbol of Easter, depicted as a rabbit bringing Easter eggs. Originating among German Lutherans, the “Easter Hare” originally played the role of a judge, evaluating whether children were good or disobedient in behavior at the start of the season of Eastertide. The Easter Bunny is sometimes depicted with clothes. In legend, the creature carries colored eggs in his basket, candy, and sometimes also toys to the homes of children, and as such shows similarities to Santa Claus or the Christkind, as they both bring gifts to children on the night before their respective holidays.
