Rensselaer Journal, Volume 10, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 May 1901 — Englishman Finds Strange Animal. [ARTICLE]

Englishman Finds Strange Animal.

Sir Henry Johnson, special commissioner to Uganda, reports the established existence in the Semliki forests of a peculiar ruminant thought to be long extinct. The natives call this animal the okapi. It is a giraffe-like creature, which is closely akin to the ox in size. The neck is a little longer, proportionately, than that of horses, the ears like those of the ass, with silky, black fringes; the head tapers like and the nostrils are like those of the giraffe. The forehead is a vivid red, and the neck, shoulders, stomach and back a deep reddish brown. Parts of the animal are almost crimson, and others blackish in hue.