I Think That I Shall Never See…

A poem lovely as an okapi.

So yeah, it’s been awhile again, but I’m working on more than one post to make up for it. I finished this one first. It is dedicated to one of the most unique and beautiful animals at the zoo, the okapi. The okapi is the only living relative of the giraffe. This is probably one reason I love it so much, since giraffes have always been my favorite animal. But even if it weren’t related in the slightest, I would still love it. It’s such a unique animal. It’s body is like a giraffe’s, but really dark brown and its head is like a mixture of a giraffe and a horse. It most notable feature is probably - pardon my French, ;p - its butt, or rather its butt and its legs.

Just like a zebra, yet another of my favorite animals. The okapi just seems to be all my favorite animals, giraffes, horses, and zebras, all wrapped up in one amazing package. Now if someone found a combination of all my favorite birds, that would be a sight to see! Hummingbirds, Owls, Parrots, and the little known, prehistoric Terror Bird. Yeah, I rather doubt that will ever happen, so I’ll be happy with the okapi. I want one for my own, but considering they are so rare that only 14 zoos are allowed to display them, I doubt I’ll ever have my own.

So for now I’ll just have to be happy with occasionally getting to view this one from afar. Maybe someday I’ll get a chance to pet one. It’s a long shot, but it could happen. I got to pet some giraffes once. That was one of the best things that ever happened to me.


I think dad likes them too. He was the first person that ever told me about okapis when I was little kid. He knew how much I loved giraffes and zebras, so when he heard about okapis he came home and told me that he had just heard about an animal that was part giraffe and part zebra. I wanted to see one so bad, but I had to be content with pictures in books and on the newly discovered internet until years later when the Henry Doorly Zoo joined the Okapi Species Survival Program and finally got an okapi in a location where I could view one live.

Awe, I don’t think he wanted dad to leave.
Well, until the next post, I will leave you with two more gorgeous pictures.

I just want to love him, and hold him, and squeeze him, and pet him, and call him George. Bonus points if you know where this phrase is from. (I’m sure that you do Sarah. )

I just wanna jump on his back and ride off into the sunset. Of the rainforest.