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
RECENT DISCOVERY Wild okapis only live in one place in the entire world the Congo River basin in the heart of Africa They’re often found within the Ituri ee-TOOR-ee Forest The native people who live in the dense rainforest have known about okapis for thousands of years However scientists first learned about the elusive animals just a little over 100 years ago The native people of the Ituri Forest are known as the Mbuti em-BOO-tee Pygmies Most Pygmy people are less than 5 feet 1 5 m tall 6
In 1901 an explorer named Harry Johnston went searching for the okapi or the African donkey as it was called at the time With the help of native guides he explored the Ituri Forest Finally he found some okapi tracks in the mud under a thick canopy of trees Yet Harry never saw a live animal He did collect an okapi skin and skull Eventually the bones helped scientists classify the new animal as the only living relative of the giraffe Strips of okapi skins collected by Harry Johnston An illustration of an okapi based on a painting by Harry Johnston LOOK CLOSER Harry Johnston is credited with discovering the okapi As a result the animal’s scientific name is Okapia johnstoni 7
