'Ekake Ha'u Lani was born on February 28, 1999 on the Big Island of Hawaii. Almost two hundred years ago, the first donkey's came to Hawaii, on a sailing ship. The ranchers in upcountry Kona on the Big Island needed the little donkeys to help with theur work on the ranches. The new donkeys pulled carts and let children sit on their backs. Sometimes the children would take long rides through the velvet green hills on their favorite donkeys.