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Are
you familiar with the term even-toed ungulate? These are plant eating
mammals whose hooves are divided into four or five parts.
The limbs between the wrist and the ankle joints are usually
elongated and the legs are long and slender. Most of them swift footed,
large and in groups or herds.
The
cattle family including domestic cattle, sheep, goats, deer and antelope
belong to the group called even toed ungulates. The okapi and the giraffe
also belong to the same group.
The
okapi:
A cud chewing hoofed
mammal, the okapi is classified along with the giraffe in the family Giraffidae. It was discovered only in the twentieth century. It may be
found in the thick rain forests of the Congo region in Africa.
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The
okapi's neck and legs are shorter than that of the giraffe. The female
okapi is larger than the male and it measures a height five feet from the
ground at its shoulder. The male has short horns covered with skin except
at the tips.
The
okapi has a dark coat that helps camouflage it. The coat is sleek and deep
brown, almost purple, with the sides of the face being of dull red in
color. Its behind, thighs,
and tops of the forelegs bear horizontal stripes in black and white.
However, the lower parts of its legs are white, with black rings above the
hooves. The okapi's eyes and ears are large. Its tongue is long and
prehensile. The
okapi is a shy animal that
prefers solitude, unlike other ungulates. It lives among dense cover and
browses on leaves and fruit.
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The
okapi |
The
giraffe:
Like the okapis, giraffes
are also cud-chewing hoofed mammals. They are an African native
present primarily in the region south of the Sahara.
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The
giraffe is the tallest among the mammals and it reaches a good height of
eighteen feet. The giraffe's leg and neck are very long. Its body is
comparatively short. There is a short mane on the neck. Its tail is
tufted.
The
structure of the giraffe is such that the back slopes downward to the
hindquarters. The neck contains only the seven vertebrae typical of most
mammals. There are two to four short, skin-covered horns present in both
sexes. There is a central swelling between the eyes.
The
giraffe's coat is a pale buff and is covered with reddish brown spots that
range from regular and geometric, to irregular and blotchy. In some
species, the spots are shaped like leaves.
Unlike
the okapi, giraffes live in herds on savannahs and in open bush country.
Acacia leaves are its favorite eat. Its gait is a pace. However, because
it takes long strides, it gives the impression of being swifter than it
is. At full gallop, it reaches a speed of thirty miles an hour.
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The
giraffe |
Other than
good height, the giraffe also possesses other gifts bestowed upon it by
nature. It has excellent eyesight. Its hearing and sense of smell are also
very good.
The
giraffe is believed to be a voiceless animal; however, it does produce low
notes and moans. Its enemies are human beings among bipeds and the lion
among the four-legged creatures. When it has to defend itself, the giraffe
kicks with its hooves, which are very heavy. Males fight among themselves
by swinging their heads at one another.
The
female giraffe produces one calf at a time. Within an hour or two of its
birth, the baby is ready to follow its mother through the bushes and open
country.
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