IT WAS the unlikely love match that turned positively “eary”. When council’s year-long search to find Jenny the lovelorn donkey a partner ended, it was left in a quandary – what to name the new stud? What followed was an avalanche of suggestions, ranging from the absurd – Electric Batman, Dinosaur – to the obscene – Jackass, Nice-ass.
StarFM’s breakfast team Pip and Whitto even got in on the act, taking suggestions on-air. Ultimately, council couldn’t resist the pop culture reference, naming the celebrity donk “Forrest”, in honour of the love affair between the title character and Jenny in Forrest Gump. “Just like the movie, Forrest and Jenny go together like peas and carrots,” council’s director of environment and community services Janice Summerhayes said.
“We received suggestions from right across the Riverina, including some really creative names like Electric Batman, Kong and Dinosaur.
“In the end it came down to Dusty in honour of Slim and the donkey’s home town of Tamworth, and Forrest because of the movie’s main characters Forrest and Jenny.
“Forrest was the most common suggestion Council received and it won over the panel as well.
“I’m sure he will hear ‘run Forrest, run!’ called out by all the families and visitors over the coming years.”
Forrest has been settling in well at the zoo since he arrived from a hobby farm near Tamworth in July. All the media attention is new for Forrest, but Jenny is used to the spotlight after her quest for love captured the city’s attention last August.
