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Giraffidae Family
The giraffidae family consists of two living species giraffe and okapi. Scientists in earlier times stated that the okapi was extinct and the giraffe was the only living Giraffid (member of the giraffidae family) left. Giraffid fossils, which have been found as far back as the Miocene period, led to many theories by curious scientists. Some believed the okapi actually hadn't existed at all, and others believed it HAD existed but it wasn't related to the giraffe. But, if you look at the fossils found (or even modern day skulls), they are amazingly similar. Both species have long, narrow skulls, long narrow feet, and short horns coming from between the parietals (bones forming upper and middle cranium) and frontal (forehead). They are also considered ruminants because they both possess a four-chambered stomach, much like a cow.
The OkapiCheap University Papers on Giraffidae family
The okapi, or okapia johnostoni, belongs to
Kingdom Animalia (all animals)
Phylum Chordata (vertebrates)
Class Mammalia (warm-blooded mammals; young nourished by mammary glands in the female)
Order Artiodactyla (hoofed animals; even number of functional toes)
Family Giraffidae
Genus Okapia
Species Okapia johnstoni
History and Ancestry
The okapi was believed to be extinct until Henry Stanley went to visit the Wambuttie pygmies and learned of a horse-like creature (only with stripes) that the pygmies occasionally caught in their traps. An English man, P.L. Sclater, heard the rumor of the striped horse and journeyed into Africa. While Sclater found strange two-toed tracks, he found no other evidence of the okapi and decided they were probably from an antelope or similar creature. A year later, in 100, Harry H. Johnston finally saw a live okapi. Eighteen years after a live okapi was seen, one was transported to an England zoo for the first time.
The okapi had a very large ancestor called the sivatherium, which lived way back in the Miocene period as well. The sivatherium, however, does not look like the giraffids found today. It looked much more like a short, stocky, antelope with four horns. The sivatherium was found and named after one of the Hindu gods whose name meant "beast of Siva".
Anatomy
Okapis are a dark chocolate brown color, with creamy white stripes on their hind and legs. The cheeks, throat, ankles, and chest are all a light color, usually either a light gray or tan. This coloring helps the okapi nearly disappear into its background, usually a dense forest or thick grass. A female will tend to be redder in color, and in both sexes the color darkens with age. Male okapis have horns no larger than fifteen centimeters long, whereas the females have none. While okapis have longer necks than most animals their size, they are still relatively stocky because of their shorter limbs (legs). The giraffe and okapi share many physical features, but an obvious one are their long tongues. Okapi tongues are commonly twelve inches long, and sometimes even exceed that length. The okapi is the only mammal that can clean its whole body with their tongue, even their eyes! The okapi will often grow to be between six and eight feet long, and five feet tall at the shoulder. They also weigh between 440 and 550 pounds.
Life Cycle, Courtship, Child Rearing, Communication, and Other Behaviors
Okapis are very solitary and mild, coming together mainly to mate and mate alone. However, since the okapi is very hard to observe in the wild, captive okapis are the only examples of mating rituals/behaviors available. It is known, though, that a female will breed only every two years. In captivity, the male and female will circle each other, licking and sniffing. The male will eventually thrust his head and front leg forward, establishing his dominance. The mating occurs, and then the two separate. After a 440 day gestation period, the female will go into vegetation or a concealed place to give birth. Newborns are very independent at young ages. Within half an hour of birth, an okapi calf may already be walking and nursing. For the next few days, they follow the mother closely and then retreat into a nest. For two months, they stay in this nest and rarely defecate to remain unnoticed by predators. After six months, they begin to wean and sometimes this process takes up to a year. When a year has passed, a male will have begun to develop horns and two years later, both sexes have reached adulthood. An okapi's life expectancy in captivity is thirty years; a wild okapi's left expectancy is still unknown.
Okapis, as stated above, are very solitary. They only are found in pairs when a mother has young, or during mating. However, they do not seem to be territorial. Females mark their territory by rubbing their necks on trees; a male will urinate instead. Males will usually have larger territorial areas than a female. It also seems that okapis don't usually stay in their own territory long, they usually will not visit the same watering hole more than once when observed. While they seldom are found together, communication between okapis is commonly seen. A mother and calf will 'bond' or call out to each other if in distress, a female and male will call out before courtship, and during confrontations the okapis will snort and grunt.
Feeding Habits
The okapi feeds on many things that would make a human very ill, or even cause us to die! It will forage (which is basically wandering and looking for food) for food along well-trodden paths in a forested area eating leaves, buds, shoots, grasses, ferns, fungi, etc…They also will eat a reddish clay found near rivers and streams to satisfy their mineral and salt intake. When wild okapi feces was examined, it was found that they also eat a lot of charcoal from trees burned by lightening. This is believed to be eaten to help balance out the toxins taken into the body.
Population Status
Okapis are currently neither threatened, endangered, or stable. Their status can only be guessed, since they are so secretive. They are at risk of becoming threatened for quite a few reasons, however. While they appear to be common in the areas they live in, these areas are quickly being deforested causing the okapi to retreat further and further. Also, since they only live in a small area in Congo, it's hard for these animals to move to a different place. Another problem they face are poachers. However, they are not often poached for economic reasons (at least not directly). Miners in the Congo area, which is rich in minerals, will often go hunting and kill okapis, elephants, and other large mammals for food. Okapis are also sometimes caught accidentally in the traps of both hunters and village people.
The Giraffe
The giraffe, or giraffe, belongs to
Kingdom Animalia (all animals)
Phylum Chordata (vertebrates)
Class Mammalia (warm-blooded mammals; young nourished by mammary glands in the female)
Order Artiodactyla (hoofed animals; even number of functional toes)
Family Giraffidae
Genus Giraffa
Species Giraffa camelopardalis
History and Ancestry
The giraffe, like the okapis, was also related to the sivatherium. In contrast, the giraffe has been known about for much longer than the okapis. While there was doubt in the okapi's existence despite fossil finds, the giraffe was known to still be living and therefore, no doubt remained in its existence. However, the giraffe used to cover nearly all of Africa. Now, it has been pushed into certain areas of the Sahara, only.
Anatomy
An adult giraffe can grow up to 15 feet tall at the tip of the head, 17 feet at the top of its horns. They weigh around 1700 pounds, but some can reach over 500! They are literally big headed and have big hearts…their head and neck weigh over five hundred pounds alone! Their hearts can be up to two feet long, and weigh up to twenty pounds. Unlike the okapis, both sexes of giraffe have horns atop their heads. However, the females do have a bit smaller horns. This is barely noticeable unless a large number of giraffes are compared. Giraffes will also often have more than two horns; a third will grow between the two normal horns. Their horns are also covered in skin and hair.
The nine sub-species of giraffes are separated by the pattern of spots found on their coat. Here are some examples
Reticulated most common, brown spots on white
Nubian dark red to chestnut brown spots on white
Nigerian pale reddish-yellow spots on white
Baringo or Rothschild's deep brown spots, sometimes rectangular on white
Kilimanjaro or Masai leaf shaped spots on white
Southern net pattern
While the giraffe's neck is much longer than human necks, it actually has the same number of vertebrae (seven). Giraffe vertebrae, of course, are much larger. Like the okapi, a giraffe has an enormous tongue. A giraffe has a much larger one; it grows from a foot and a half long to two feet long! Their tongues, which are black in order to be protected from the sun, are used in cleaning, grasping things, and eating.
Life Cycle, Courtship, Child Rearing, Communication, and Other Behaviors
Giraffes travel in large, loose, herds of sometimes up to thirty giraffes. They are very social and a herd is composed of any combination of males, females, young, old, etc…They are also sometimes found in groups of two, such as a mother and her young calf during the first few weeks after birth. There are no leaders in giraffe herds, and seldom coordinated movement among the herd.
A female giraffe reaches sexual maturity at three years of age while the male becomes sexually mature between four and five years of age. However, both reach their full adult size two years after sexually maturing. Giraffes will mate year round, but conception is at its peak in the rainy season. Males will spar (fight) over females by "necking" which is a process in which two males will stand close, hitting their necks together until one stops and leaves. However, it sometimes escalates into leaning against the other, and wrapping their necks around each other, rubbing and pulling. This continues until one gives up and walks away. The 'winner' will then mate with the female. Females never are found fighting or sparring.
A female usually becomes pregnant in her fourth or fifth year of age, and after a fourteen month gestation period will give birth. After separating herself from the herd, she will go into labor for two hours or so and have a single calf. This calf, who will be around six feet tall and weight over 150 pounds, is born while the mother is standing up and will sometimes fall over six feet to the ground. The mother will then nudge, nose, and lick the calf to recognize her newborn's scent. For a week, they will remain isolated but then the mother transports the calf to a type of "giraffe nursery" where a single female watches over the herd's calves and the other mothers leave to feed, returning only to let their calves suckle periodically. The calves remain only about thirty feet apart at all times. Only fifty percent of giraffe calves live to reach sexual maturity, due to predators and lack of endurance. After six months, calves will begin to leave the "nursery" to feed with its mother and occasionally travel in groups. Female calves will tend to stay around the area they were born in, while males will travel to further areas.
Giraffes, like the okapi, also are believed to be quiet animals. They make many noises, especially during intense times. While sparring, they will grunt, snort, and even make bark-like sounds. When a mother has lost her calf, she will bellow until the calf answers back. They will also cough, hiss, bleat, mew, etc…When predators approach, they will snort and kick with their front or hind feet, and if the predator doesn't back away, the giraffe will snort louder before defending themselves.
Feeding Habits
Giraffes eat over a hundred different varieties of plants, depending on what is available to them. Eating mainly shoots and leaves; they also will munch on flowers, vines, and herbs. They have been known to eat weaverbird nests, young and all. The giraffe will then chew on the bones, perhaps to gain the minerals they need. An adult giraffe will spend up to twenty hours a day feeding on over 140 pounds of vegetation.
Population Status
The giraffe population is decreasing rapidly because of many factors, one being natural predators. Giraffes, especially younger or older giraffes, are extremely vulnerable whenever they drink. To drink, they have to bend their heads completely down and spread their feet out. This leaves them looking only at the ground, and in a tremendously defenseless position to predators coming from behind, front, and side. Another factor are the many poachers. Giraffes are poached for their meat, hide, and tail hair. Giraffe tail hair bracelets are believed to bring good luck and are becoming an increasingly popular and expensive gift. The Natives in Africa also take giraffes by using snares and pitfalls. They use giraffe sinew for bowstrings and musical instruments. The hide is used to cover shields, and the meat is eaten. European settlers years ago used giraffe hide for reins, whips, and many other items.
Summary
I have to admit, I had no clue what an okapi or tapir was when we started this project. For some reason, I pictured both being little animals that would scurry around by your feet…not animals that would tower over me! Well, they're larger than me, anyways. As I read more and more, I realized I had in fact heard of or seen pictures of both, but couldn't have identified them by name. I've seen many okapi drawings, I'm not sure where, but I didn't know it was truly an animal! I figured it was just some strange animal, something someone like Lewis Carroll or a similar fiction writer had thought up. Apparently, I was completely wrong! This project made me realize just how little we really know about the world around us and those who share it with us. Even some of the simpler animals other groups did had at least a few facts I never knew and found interesting.
Written bySherissa Ludwig
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