What is the history of the okapi?
Found in the rainforests of the Congo region, the okapi was unknown to science until 1901, when British explorer Sir Harry Hamilton Johnston sent the first bits of hide to the British Museum. However, British American explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley had made the first report of the animal as early as 1890.
Did you know facts about okapi?
The okapi: 5 weird and wonderful facts
- They’re a Pixar protagonist in the making. Shy and usually solitary, the okapi is nearly impossible to observe in the wild.
- They are great at Hide-and-Seek.
- They have infrasonic superpowers.
- They have stinky feet.
- They can lick their own ears!
Which animal no longer lives on earth?
The most famous one on the list, the dodo was a small flightless bird that got extinct 100 years after its discovery.
What was the name of the ancestor of the okapi?
This ancestor is called palaeotragus. It was believed to have a large body and a short neck and roamed throughout Europe and Asia. However, as it began to migrate to Africa, its current body couldn’t thrive in the extreme heat or dense forest, and eventually this species died off.
Why are okapis so wary of other animals?
Okapis are very wary, and their highly developed hearing alerts them to run when they hear humans in the distance. In fact, while indigenous people of the Ituri Forest knew of okapis and would occasionally catch one in their pit traps, scientists did not know of okapis until 1900.
Where does the okapi Giraffe live in the world?
Species of mammal. The okapi (/oʊˈkɑːpiː/; Okapia johnstoni), also known as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe, or zebra giraffe, is an artiodactyl mammal native to the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa.
What kind of ear does an okapi have?
Okapis have large ears, which help them detect predators, mainly the leopard. Their black/blue tongue is long and prehensile. Both Okapis and Giraffes have very long, flexible tongues measuring around 30 centimetres (12 inches) long.
