This shy fellow is a forest-dwelling creature called an okapi.  From central Africa, they resemble a zebra crossed with a giraffe and are about the size of a tall but skinny horse.

They also have long, skinny black tongues.

I’m disappointed because I can’t find the series of photographs I took of the mother with a newborn, nor the ones of a single okapi over in the holding area in the back corner of the zoo.  However, on this particular day when we visited, I had my cell phone camera with me.  When we came into the building where the okapi live, there was a volunteer zookeeper there doing some research.  She told us that this okapi had been orphaned and was hand-raised by the zoo.  He will not be able to go back into the wild.

I thought he was going to go back into his paddock, so I turned away to talk to the zookeeper.  Then my husband softly said, “Honey.”

I turned back to find that the okapi isn’t just shy, but also curious.  Unfortunately, I jiggled my camera when I tried to be sneaky about bringing it up to snap his photo.

He moved his head when I took the shot, so he’s blurry, but you can see his striped legs.  Skinny little legs, aren’t they?

Squirmy little bugger, too.  He reached up to see what was up above in the enclosure, so all I got was his ear.  Phooey.

He decided to wander back inside, and I got this picture of his back and ears in the light.  He has a lovely coat, like a bay horse but with giant satellite ears.

And yeah, I wanna pet him.  🙂

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Thank you for joining me for the A-Z Blog Challenge.  If you’re blogging in the challenge, please leave me a link so I can come visit you too.  If you have a moment, please check out these other fine blogs:

My theme on my Knoontime Knitting craft blog is Letterforms In Nature and the Built Environment.  I’ll be exploring my daily round, looking for shapes in the natural world and build environment.

The theme at Noon & Wilder is The A To Z of Chicago.  Since I live here in the city and we have our Chicagoland Shifters based here, I figured I’d share a window into the city, Noon & Wilder style.

The Nice Girls Writing Naughty have a new home, and we’re blogging in the challenge again this year.  Throughout the month you’ll be hearing from each of the Nice Girls, and during the RT Booklovers Convention from April 12^th to the 17^th, you’ll be getting live convention reports.  Join the conversation!

The Writer Zen Garden’s brand new website is up and running, and we’re bringing you posts from me, Noony; my partner in crime, Rachel Wilder (the Wilder half of Noon & Wilder); the talented Darla M. Sands – a blogger in her own right, see below; as well as Grace Kahlo, Evey Brown, and author Tina Holland.  Check it out!

My friends who are participating in the challenge (and if you’re not on this list, tell me and I’ll add you!):

• Darla M. Sands, Awakening Dreams and Conquering Nightmares with a Pen
• Kari Trenten, The Cauldron of Eternal Inspiration

Write on, and Happy Blogging!