John Maes, age 13, of Ca g , Alberta, for his question:

What is a kouprey?

It is about 30 years since the first kouprey arrived in Europe. He was quartered in the Paris zoo, Until that time, he had escaped attention. This is strange, since the kouprey is as big as an ox, In fact he is a relative of the ox.

The kouprey is also known as the Indo‑Chinese Forest Ox, which gives us a clue to his native land. He comes from the hills and uplands of two little kingdoms of Indo‑China, Laos and Cambodia. There he browses among lush tropical trees, often sharing the forest land with deer, leopards, boars and little wild horses.

The big ox is glossy brown and often wears white marks on his back to match his white foot. At times you might think that some enemy has chewed the end of his horns. This is because the tips of the horns sometimes fray open and reveal a few inches of black inner horn. Full grown, the kouprey may measure eight feet long, plus three feet of tail. The big fellow stands about five feet at shoulder level.