Welcome to You Ask Andy

Kevin Cox, age 11, of Enid, Okla., for his question:

WHAT SORT OF FOOD DOES AN OKAPI EAT?

The okapi looks for all the world like an impossible picture book animal somebody painted chocolaty brown, then added a few surprising white patches and stripes. However, since the early 1900s, we have known that the okapi is a real animal of the planet earth. We also know that he is a born leaf eater, though almost nobody has ever seen him eating in his natural environment.

The okapi belongs to the dense, steamy jungles of the African Congo. There the lower vegetation is a tangled mass of vines and thickets, and cutting a path through it is almost impossible. However, here and there are a few natural clearings. Sometimes one of these clearings happens to be the favorite haunt of a solitary okapi. Even here, the lofty jungle trees cast deep gloomy shadows. And the mule size okapi is hard to spot because his velvety dark brown coat has white patches and stripes to blend into the scenery.    

If we could watch him feeding, we would be amazed at the large size of his long, mobile tongue. And like his cousin, the lofty giraffe, he also has large, soft, mobile lips. Naturally these features are especially designed to help him gather his favorite food.

The okapi is a strict vegetarian, and the jungle is packed with assorted items for his menu. Sometimes he bends his head to gather ferns and grasses from the ground. But more often he stretches his rubbery neck to reach up and browse from the boughs.

His large, mobile tongue extends to grasp and grab tufts of leafy greenery. Sometimes he prefers a salad of buds and tender shoots. For dessert he gathers himself a helping of jungle fruit. After dining awhile in his forest clearing, the okapi sets off along a mysterious path through the gloomy rain forest, munching as he goes.

Possibly the cheerful pygmies who share his forest have observed the details of his private life. But certainly no great white hunter could track him through his gloomy territory. A few okapis have survived in captivity  but they have taught us very little about themselves.

So far as we know the solitary female bears a solitary calf. The little one looks somewhat like a chocolate colt with white socks and white stripes around his rump. He has donkey¬ type ears and a donkey type tail, a white face and a sooty black nose. Being a mammal, the infant feeds on mother's milk.

 

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