okapis ON THE TRAIL STUDYING SECRETIVE ANIMALS IN THE WILD by Joyce Markovics
OKAPI MISSION The year was 1987 U S zoologist John Lukas stepped off an old cargo plane He had just arrived in Zaire a country that’s now called the Democratic Republic of Congo And John still had seven tough days of traveling ahead of him He had come all the way to Africa to learn more about a strange and secretive animal the okapi oh-COP-ee The Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo LOOK CLOSER An okapi is about the size of a horse and stands about 6 feet 2 meters tall It can stretch its neck another 2 feet 61 centimeters 4
John had only ever seen an okapi in a zoo The creature fascinated him For one thing an okapi has extraordinary markings It has stripes like a zebra and a neck and ears more similar to a giraffe And the okapi has a dark blue tongue that’s so long it can lick its own eyes It has amazing biology John says Yet little was known about okapis in the wild because they’re seldom seen Zoologist John Lukas with an okapi 5
