FANTASTIC ANIMALS:

This page is devoted to creatures which are slightly extraordinary, endangered, amusing, appealing...............and /or stripey !!

The mysterious and unusual-looking Okapi was first discovered in 1901 by a British explorer, who must have had quite a shock when he first saw one ! Okapis are beautiful and graceful-looking animals, with long necks and sloping hinquarters, and a glossy dark purple-rufous coat marked with contrasting horizontal white stripes. Their large, prominent ears give them an endearing quality, as well as a slightly ungainly appearance which adds to their appeal. They seem to have a placid air of calm about them, too.

It spends its days in the rainforests of Africa (what few areas there are left) where young trees and shrubs increase food availability. The okapi is not a member of the Zebra family, as its stripes may lead some people to believe. It is actually a member of the Giraffidae family, along with the giraffe. It shares several characteristics with the giraffe: a long extendable black tongue, skin-covered horns, and lobed canine teeth. The giraffe, however, prefers the open savannah to the forest. The stripes on the okapi's legs serve as a "follow-me" signal to new-born calves. The okapi has been protected by government decree since 1933, but commercial poaching still threatens its existence.

Geographical Range:: Ituri Forest of Northern Zaire; North and Northeast Democratic Republic of Congo.

Habitat: Dense rainforest with low shrubs and thick undergrowth along rivers.

Physical Characteristics: The Okapi stands 5-6 feet at the shoulder, weighing 450-550 pounds. The coat is dark chestnut with distinctive black and white stripes on forelegs, flanks and back legs (The male is distinguished from the female by two small hair-covered horns, and Females are redder in color). Their long blue-black tongue is used to gather food.

Behavior: Little is known of their behavior in the wild, they are very shy, secretive and elusive. Okapi live in the densest part of the forest, and are solitary except during breeding. Males have clearly defined territories and mark the borders with the glands on their feet and with urine. They have an extremely keen sense of hearing and smell. When Okapi drink, they splay or straddle their front legs like giraffes in order to reach the water.

Diet: In the wild they eat plants, fruits, shoots, and leaves.

Life Cycle: Life expectancy is 15-20 years. The Female advertises her breeding condition by marking with urine and calling so that the male can find her. Gestation is 421-457 days. A single calf is born and kept hidden for 2 weeks - contact between mother and calf is maintained by vocalization. The calf stays with it's mother for 8-10 months. Stripes are important for calf imprinting - each Okapi has a unique pattern of stripes which is recognisable by induvidual animals.

Survival Status: Endangered. Only than 121 exist in zoos worldwide, with less than 60 in zoos in the United States. In the wild it is prey for poachers, who threaten to hunt it to extinction. The only defense the okapi has is its' solitary and secretive behaviour and ability at concealing itself, but with war and unrest in Africa destroying it's habitat, soon the Okapi will have nowhere to hide from the poachers. War also brings suspiciously virulent forms of diseases such as Anthrax - an outbreak of Anthrax during the 1970's horrifically and unnescessarily killed millions of innocent human beings and their livestock, as well as Rhino, Elephant etc. Some of these Anthrax spores are almost certainly countless wild animals such as Zebra, Wildebeest, lying dormant in the soil, ready to infect a new victim and start another epidemic (Germ Warfare information from 'Panorama' BBCTV documentary, broadcast 14th July 1998).

(Picture reproduced from 'Zoo 2000 - A look behind the bars' by Jeremy Cherfas)

The word "giraffe" is derived from the Arabic word "xirapha" which means "one that walks very fast". This is because the giraffe can take 15 ft strides when walking and reach speeds of 35 mph when galloping.

There are eight recognized races, the reticulated giraffe (G. c. reticulata) of north Kenya is the most distinctive its latticework of thin lines separating dark patches, and is also most unlike the markings of any other mammal. The familiar Masai giraffe (G. c. tippelskirchi) of East Africa has the most irregular pattern.

Physical Characteristics: The giraffe is the biggest ruminant and the tallest mammal. Most giraffe varieties are a pale buff colour, covered with splotches of brown in a jigsaw-likw pattern. Reticulated giraffes are a different race and are coloured in a different way - their bodies are brown to rich chestnut (old males are usually darker, even black), dissected into an intricate tapestry by patches and blotches of lighter hair in a network of distinct buff / white lines that are unique to each animal.

A Masai giraffe, waving it's tail.

Above: See how much effort the giraffe has to use to reach the water and drink, compared with the effort apparently expended by the Zebra beside it.

The giraffe has had to push it's hind legs forward underneath it's body and closer to it's centre of gravity so that they can support most of it's weight - otherwise the strain on the front legs and chest would be too great, and the giraffe would overbalance. See also the Reticulated giraffe featured below.

The giraffe's exceptionally long neck (containing the same number of vertebrae {seven} as in humans and most mammals), narrow muzzle and flexible upper lip, along with it's long prehensile tongue, enable it to harvest the most nutritious leaves in the quantity (up to 75 lb, 134 kg per day) necessary to sustain its great bulk. The 18 inch (45 cm) tongue and a modified atlas-axis joint (which joins the head to the neck in mammals) that lets the head extend vertically further increase the height advantage. Giraffes can browse crowns of small trees, and can reach leaves up to 18 feet from the ground.

Giraffes, like the Okapi, have to bend down and splay or straddle their legs to drink. They have special valves in the blood vessels in their necks, which stop the blood rushing to their brains when they bend down to drink ! The giraffe also has a huge heart, specialised to pump in a way so that the animal does not faint when it lifts it's head up too quickly.

They also possess 2 "horns" on head that are bony protrusions from the skull covered with skin and hair and not true horns. These horns are made from solid bone. Both sexes have a main pair of horns but the female's thin and tufted, and the male's thick and bald on top, and up to 5 in (13.5 cm) tall. Males, especially older ones, may also have a median horn and 4 or more smaller bumps.

Height: Of all the living land animals the giraffe is the tallest attaining heights of 15 to 18 feet including horns.

Geographical Range: Formerly throughout arid and dry savanna zones south of the Sahara, wherever trees occur. Eliminated from most of West African and southern Kalahari range but still reasonably common even outside wildlife reserves.

Social Habits: Giraffes are shy animals that travel in herds of 12 to 15 under the leadership of an adult male. They are frequently found with zebras, wildebeest and ostriches.

Diet: In wild: acacia leaves, mimosa, apricot. Will drink approximately 2 gallons of water per week but can go for several weeks and longer without water.

Reproduction: The female is known as the 'cow', and gives birth to a single calf (newborn calf pictured left), after a gestation period of 420 to 450 days. The calf averages 6 feet at birth and weight of 110 pounds and is able to stand within 20 minutes of birth. The cow nurses for 9 months. Giraffes also use a 'babysitting system' - young in the herd are often cared for by a single female while the mothers are away foraging.

Giraffe mothers are protective of their young and will attack any predator which threatens her child. Adult giraffes have hooves the size of large dinner plates, and the powerful long legs with their strong muscular structure become formidable weapons. The giraffe is easily capable of crushing a lion's skull with a well-aimed kick

Above: Giraffe mother about to ward off a pride of lions who are aiming to capture her calf.

Reticulated Giraffe

(pictured left. NB: Reticulated giraffes do not have two heads - there are two animals in this picture !!)

Reticulated giraffes have an extremely unusual, beautiful pattern which is formed in a way which is different to almost every other animal species. They are brown to rich chestnut in colour (old males are usually darker, even black), dissected into an intricate tapestry by patches and blotches of lighter hair in a network of distinct buff / white lines that are unique to each animal.

Geographic Range and Habitat: Kenya and Ethiopia in Africa on open savannah in areas with acacia plants.

Below - left: Reticulated giraffes fighting. Giraffes fight by wrestling with their necks in a similar way to humans arm-wrestling. All types of Giraffe fight in this way, and battles seldom become more violent than this.

Below -left: Reticulated giraffe drinking. Giraffes need to stand in a certain way to drink safely (see 'Masai giraffe' above for details)

Far Below : Young Reticulated giraffe resting.

The Bongo is a type of antelope which inhabits the forests of Equatorial East Africa, ranging into the mountains wherever possible. It is a shy and elusive animal, like the Okapi, and is much specialised to its' environment. However, the Bongo can be extremely aggressive, and will charge at leopards and attack them if it feels it has to. The Bongo possesses formidable horns and weighs 225 kg, and would be a threatening enemy !

The Bongo has a beautiful pattern of delicate white stripes on a dark chestnut ground. It is so specialised to it's environment that it would find living conditions impossible if it was forced to move elsewhere.

The Duck-billed Platypus is a very odd-looking beast ! At the end of the eighteenth century, a Englishman brought one back to London from Australia. This was the first Duck-billed Platypus ever to be seen in Britain, and it looked so astounding and bizarre that it was almost dismissed as a fake - a creature which had been invented by sewing together the dead body parts of other animals, to be exhibited to gullible people in museums. However, after close examination the Platypus was declared real - and taxonomists (biologists dealing with classification) were perplexed !

It is classified by taxonomists as a very primitive mammal. It is only distantly related to all other known mammals (mammals are creatures which have hair, a placenta, give birth to live young and give milk from specialised 'mammary' glands), and it is not a true mammal at all. Therefore, it has had to be placed in a sub-class known as 'Monera'. This is due to the fact that amongst other reptilian features it possesses - it lays eggs which hatch, and then the young nourish themselves on milk secreted by the mother Duck-billed Platypus. It is almost a perfect crossover species between mammals and reptiles.

The Platypus probably evolved slightly prior to, or at the same time as Marsupials (pouched animals). True mammals did not evolve until after the marsupials had become established and successful.

Duck-billed Platypus swimming.

(from: 'Life on Earth' by David Attenborough)

Biological Characteristics:

Warm-blooded, although it also has reptilian features.

Size: about the same as a rabbit.

The 'bill' of the Platypus is not hard and horny like a bird's bill, it is pliable and leathery annd is made from soft skin. It is extremely sensitive and is covered with nerve endings which enable it to navigate and hunt in total darkness. The bill contains no teeth. Also, the Platypus' eyes are not too good, so it relies a lot on it's beak.

The fur is similar to an otter's - extremely thick and fine, with a layered, insulating, water repellant quality.

It has webbed feet with strong claws.

It has a vent (anus) like a birds' vent, or reptile's cloaca.

It has very primitive mammary glands with no nipple, these are similar to sweat glands - the milk is simply oozes into the mother's fur. The young Platypi suck the milk from tufts of the mother's hair just after they have hatched from their eggs.

Geographical Range: Australia and New Guinea.

Habitat: Rivers. It hunts on the river bed, searching for prawns, worms and the like. It is adept at digging, and excavates extensive and intricate networks of tunnels in the river bed. These can sometimes be 18 metres long !