#arteriodactyl

OKAPI Okapia johnstoni ©Laura Quick

As a kid we were gifted The Big Book of Animals. It was filled with animals beyond my suburban American imagination. I was especially entranced by the okapi. I pronounced this it as OAK-a-pee not knowing better and only recently learned it’s pronounced o-COP-ee. These are shy forest dwellers native to the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa. Although the okapi has striped markings reminiscent of zebras, it is most closely related to the giraffe.

The okapi stands about 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall at the shoulder and has a typical body length around 2.5 m (8.2 ft). Its weight ranges from 200 to 350 kg (440 to 770 lb). It has a long neck, and large, flexible ears. Its coat is a chocolate to reddish brown, much in contrast with the white horizontal stripes and rings on the legs, and white ankles. Males have short, hair-covered, horn-like protuberances  on their heads called ossicones, less than 15 cm (6 in) in length.

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