To get a handle on its mule deficit, Cuba is undertaking a national census of the long-eared equids, their daily newspaper reported.

“The paper reports the country might be some 8,000 in the red (pardon the pun),” said the Miami New Times.  

Mules are crucial for the transport of coffee, cocoa, and other agricultural staples in the country’s mountainous areas. The hardy hybrids are generally sterile.

Officials will carry out the census between March 1 and 10