It's 7pm. Do you know where your okapi is?


Say Hello to the hippest animal in the kingdom.

When I was about 6 years old my parents took us to the zoo in Frankfurt -- this was one of the most formative and exciting days of my childhood. My parents, former residents of South Africa and big fans of african wildlife, were very cool about teaching us about the animal kingdom, usually after dinner, when we'd gather round the kitchen table and my dad, no shabby artist he, would draw us pictures of whatever animal we requested, having seen it in action at the zoo. My favorite animal from the zoo was the Okapi, zany relative of the giraffe, who wears zebra legwarmers that go all the way up:



My brother Toby, who today replaced the penguin with the ostrich as his favorite animal, said that "we should call it zebra-ass. ...or Zebrass." I like the way he thinks, but more than that, I like the okapi.

I like it for the same reasons I liked it in 1985: it's style, its distinctively nerdy appearance, and the fact that it was the last mammal to be discovered - like, that whole time it was just chillen in its stripey leggings patiently, quiet evidence that God has a sense of humor. This and other factoids can be found here.

Posted: Wed - September 22, 2004 at 11:00 PM        

©