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Okapi (pi)
Zebra and giraffe have you seen the "mixed blood"?
This animal, to a great extent, confirms the rationality of "referring to a deer as a horse" . The animal that rationalizes a thousand-year-old idiom is the okapi. It wears a zebra's black and white striped "coat", but its front half looks like a "distant relative" of a giraffe. So the question is, is the "four dissimilar" animal like the okapi really the "divine beast" that we pass on by word of mouth? And what does it have to do with giraffes?
The Four Dislikes in Myths and Legends
Okapi was once known as one of the top ten mystical animals in the world. was discovered in 1901 , in the primeval forest of Africa Zaire forest . Its birth can frighten the animal experts at that time, mainly because of its small appearance, it is really not like the creatures on the earth . At first glance, it looks more like a little wild horse that is having fun everywhere, but 's plump buttocks are wearing black and white stripes , which makes people suspect that the zebra is its "Second Uncle".
In fact, the Okapi is quite handsome, neither like a horse nor a giraffe. In fact, okapi is a kind of under giraffe family . When humans first came into contact with them, they thought it was African wild ass and zebra's "mixed baby", , but from From a biological point of view, and zebra subgenus are genetically very different so it is impossible to combine at all.
Don't look at the cute okapi, the weight can reach terrifying 180 to 317 kg Comparable. This naive animal is mainly distributed in eastern Congo, Africa, tropical rainforest is a vibrant but dangerous . However, this is the paradise of okapi. No one can find them hidden in the deep mountains and old forests. Only the local indigenous people know of their existence, but they treat them as a delicious "feast" .
It stands to reason that a new species was originally discovered,Experts who study animals should be ecstatic and hurry to document this creature, but why is there so little information on the okapi? This actually has something to do with Okapi's nature , is particularly shy and extremely timid, does not take the initiative to contact the new world at all, even to fill his stomach, he goes out according to the fixed route in memory. It should not be said how cowardly and how cowardly. Because of this, ranks second in the top ten mysterious animals of . It came and went without a trace, and was once considered extinct by scientists!
It was not until 1909 that the mysterious real body of Okapi was roughly discovered. Through in-depth research and observation of the okapi, people have found that in addition to its looks like zebras and giraffes , there are other wonderful characteristics. For example, it has a long tongue, which is half a meter long, and it is blue, like a superhero contaminated and mutated by nuclear waste, it can be easily licked Your own ears are similar to a giraffe's tongue.
okapi's long tongue
and two less obvious horns were found on the top of the male okapi's head , from the side, it is faintly overlapped, just like in myths and legends The " unicorn" .So horse body, zebra legs, antler , giraffe tongue, constitute this kind of creature that doesn't look normal.
At this time, someone will ask, is this the product of "deformed love" between zebras and giraffes? It's a bit unrealistic, even if a giraffe is willing to zebra, it can't do anything! Moreover, as mentioned earlier, zebras and giraffes belong to different families. From a biological point of view, they cannot be crossbred like donkeys and horses. It is obvious that there is reproductive isolation .
However, later, according to scientific research, among the known animal species on the earth, the okapi is also related to the giraffe. But what makes people wonder is that it belongs to the same family as giraffes, why is it so different in strength and appearance?
The difference between the okapi and the giraffe
In fact, we all know giraffes, big man, long neck, and long legs that are enviable, summed up in one word "high". Deserved to be one of the highest animals in the world . The height of a two-storey cottage, a giraffe can squeeze its head through the window. Let's take a look at the okapi, who is born with a stupid and cute look, plus two or three hundred kilograms, and a height of one meter six , said that the okapi is like a giraffe,It was an insult to a giraffe, even a baby giraffe that just came out of its mother's womb was a head taller than an Okapi.
Survival of the fittest, natural selection? Doesn't
say there is a common ancestor? So why did the okapi go further and further on the road of evolution? biological evolution. Originally in line with "God's will", mutated evolution in different directions in different directions, in fact, in order to be able to live better, the strong desire to survive, will be preserved in the continuous self-gene improvement from generation to generation , there will be more and more obvious differences, so far they parted ways and embarked on a new path of evolution.
Comparing humans with other primates, the main aspect of human evolution is the brain, while other primates add all their "talents" to muscle strength. According to , it is speculated that the focus of evolution is that preserves and strengthens genes that are conducive to survival. It does not mean that giraffes evolve better than okapis. If nature reshuffles the cards, giraffes and Huojiao It is uncertain who Jialing will have the last laugh.
The giraffe moves from the lush tropical rainforest to the vast African savannah. The long neck enables the giraffe to detect natural enemies in time and reduce competition for food sources. And the okapi is a special case of giraffe evolution. It is not very different from their ancestors. It still lives freely in the tropical rain forest and lives a life of indifference to the world.
plus few natural enemies and abundant food resources ,Okapi also gave up the idea of "growing taller", but it is precisely because of this that their number of is extremely rare , and they are stepping into the trap set by themselves step by step. There are only 30,000 okapis in the world today . There are more than 30,000 people on any college campus.
Since 1995, Okapi populations have halved due to poaching and habitat loss. Listed as an endangered species, it can now only be found in European zoos , and in Asia it can only be found in Tokyo Zoo .
Rare is precious, and Okapi has a very high status in human society. People not only printed its image on stamps, but also printed it on banknotes. It can be printed on a country's banknotes, which shows how charming it is, and even became a member of the British royal family. It was originally to celebrate the wedding of British Prince Harry and Meghan , the London Zoo named 's okapi cub, born in December 2017, as Megan.
Congo-issued banknotes
Okapi stamps
Okapi as seen from the zoo,In addition to secretly wearing the "pants" of the zebra brother, the rest of the body is covered with chocolate-colored hair. These conspicuous black and white stripes not only make Okapi different, but also play a very good role. The camouflage protection avoids attracting favor from large carnivores. However, some people say that these black and white stripes are female okapi's signs to guide the cub's direction , as if saying "follow me", so that the cub can quickly identify where to go home and not get lost.
In addition, okapi has more special abilities, their feet can secrete something similar to pitch , like a snail, walking while walking Leaving traces of home is also an important way for them to occupy territory , allowing the okapi of the same ethnic group to find a place for the family to stop.
In addition, they don't seem to know what tiredness is. They only need light sleep for 1 hour every day, and they can be alive and active all day. And they also divide the 1 hour into dozens of times, each with only a 5-minute break . If it is a human being, it is estimated that no one can stand it.
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In fact, a creature that looks like an okapi has been found in my country, which is called "Shanxi Beast". But now it is just a pile of fossils, unearthed in Fugu County, Shanxi, my country , has disappeared in the long river of history 23 million years, But it is An ancient giraffe with "Chinese blood".
Restoration map of Shanxi beast
According to the visual observation of the fossils of Shanxi beast excavated, Shanxi beast weighs about 1 ton and weighs 3-4 meters long. But it is not a large carnivore, just study its teeth You know, it's not too sharp, and the entire head fossil is spliced together, which is closer to the long face of Okapi Two pairs. According to the analysis of relevant experts, these four antlers are very likely to be used by the Shanxi beasts to fight .
The overall shape of the Shanxi beast is more like an okapi, but it resembles a giraffe in terms of "dressing style". According to the computer restoration of the Shanxi beast, it can be seen that its appearance is stronger. The short version of the giraffe after "Bone Shrinking Dafa". Whether it is a neck or long legs, it is estimated that it is not even half the height, but it is still regarded by many zoologists as the ancestor of the giraffe. However, has no direct scientific evidence to prove , and it has always been controversial
It stands to reason that more than 5 million years ago,Shanxi beasts live in the lush forests and plains of Shanxi , with absolute physical advantages, can eat the freshest twigs and shoots. When encountering danger, they can rely on their strong long legs to run away quickly to avoid danger. At that time, many large carnivores were basically unable to drive it. Such a great survival advantage should not be met by Population Extinction 's. At this time, there are experts online, and it is very likely that the environment suddenly changed at that time, so Shanxi beasts appeared, failed to adapt to the changes in the environment in time, and eventually went to extinction.
Now the Okapi is also facing the threat of extinction, because they not only always pay attention to every move from natural enemies, but also beware of local poaching and hunting. Zoology In order to further understand the wild habits of Okapi, established the Okapi Nature Reserve in 1992 deep in the dense forest of Congo . However, during that time, the situation of the Congolese civil war was not optimistic. The okapi and the zoological expert in the reserve were all threatened with death.
Salonga National Park, Congo
Okapi looks like "four dissimilars", and its strange appearance has always puzzled zoological experts, but the blood flowing in its body will not deceive people, officially belongs to Giraffe family . However, they are distant relatives separated by many generations, so they can only be of the same family and different genera, and can only be regarded as relatively primitive giraffes.
At the end of this article, I leave you with a question, does anyone know why Okapi's tongue is blue-black? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss!
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