What Is a Zebra Giraffe？什么是斑马长颈鹿？

What’s black and white and red all over？ Do you know the answer？ It’s azebra with a sunburn1！

Okay， one more... What’s black and white and has a giraffe cousin？ Is it alittle too difficult？ The answer is also an animal. But many people haven’t heardof that animal. But don’t worry. Let’s learn about it here. It is the okapi2！

When you see the okapi for the first time， you may think the okapi is arelative3 of the zebra. That’s because its legs are striped4 black and white.However， this animal is most closely related to the giraffe. The giraffe has longnecks5， but okapis don’t have long necks. They aren’t as tall as giraffes， either.When they are fully grown， okapis are about five feet tall， and they weigh up to770 pounds.

Why don’t okapis have long necks， like giraffes？ Because the two animalslive in very different places. Giraffes live on the savanna6. They have long legsand necks， because those help them eat food. Their food grows on tall trees.Okapis’food is much closer to the ground.

All the okapis in the world live in the same place. They are in the rainforestsof the Democratic Republic of the Congo （DRC）. These forests has more and lowertrees. So okapis get food more easily. They eat leaves from trees near them. Theyalso eat clay7 and burned8 wood from the ground.

If you’d like to see an okapi for yourself， you can visit the zoo. In the wild，okapis are very shy. They want to hide9 when people come. Their body colors helpokapis hide themselves in the rainforest. Their bodies are black. In the forests， thelight is not bright， and they are hard to see. Besides， when light goes through thetrees of the forest， their striped legs often blend10 in with light.

In fact， okapis are very good at hiding. Scientists found them for the first timein 1901. Even people living in DRC rainforests hardly see an okapi. People onlysometimes accidentally11 catch them in traps12. So for scientist， to know thepopulation13 of okapis is very difficult. Now， they think it to be about 4，500.

However， okapis’colors help them find each other. In fact， their stripes aresometimes called“follow me stripes”. Because when young okapis go through therainforests， the stripes are thought to help them follow their mothers.

Zebra-like stripes aren’t the only interesting thing about okapis. They alsohave special ears. Their two ears can move in different directions. So okapis canlisten for sounds from different directions at the same time. Male14 okapis alsohave short antlers15 on their heads. Female okapis have small bumps16 on theirheads. They are much like giraffes.

Okapis are listed as a threatened17 animal. Because their population is low.However， people try hard to protect18their home and grow their populationin zoos. These can be very helpful.You can find this zebra look-alike19in zoos across the world. When you’rethere， what other animal look-alikescan you see？

什么由黑、白和通体的红组成？你知道答案吗？是一匹晒伤的斑马！

好，再来一个。什么是黑白相间的，同时又是长颈鹿的表亲？是不是有点太难了？答案也是一种动物，但很多人没有听说过这种动物。不过，别担心，让我们在这里了解一下。是！

当你第一次看到时，你可能会认为是斑马的亲戚。那是因为它的腿是黑白条纹的。然而，这种动物与长颈鹿的亲缘关系最近。长颈鹿的脖子很长，但的脖子不长。它们也没有长颈鹿那么高。在完全成年时，大约有5 英尺高，重达770 磅。

为什么没有像长颈鹿那样长的脖子呢？因为这两种动物生活在非常不同的地方。长颈鹿生活在稀树草原上。它们的腿和脖子很长，因为这有助于它们进食。它们的食物生长在高大的树木上。的食物则离地面更近。

世界上所有的都生活在同一个地方。它们生活在位于刚果民主共和国的热带雨林中。这些雨林中的树木更多、更矮，所以更容易获得食物。它们吃附近树上的树叶，还吃地面上的黏土和烧焦的木头。

如果你想亲眼看看，可以去动物园参观。在野外， 非常害羞。当人类出现的时候，它们就想躲藏起来。身体颜色帮助将自己隐藏在热带雨林中。它们的身体是黑色的。在森林里，光线不亮，它们就很难被看到。此外，当光线穿过森林里的树木时，它们腿上的条纹经常与光线融为一体。

事实上， 非常擅长隐藏。科学家们于1901 年首次发现了它们。即使是生活在刚果民主共和国热带雨林中的人也几乎看不到。人们只是有时偶尔才会在陷阱中抓住它们。因此，对于科学家来说，要了解的种群数量是非常困难的。现在，他们认为它们的数目大约是4500 只。

然而， 的颜色可以帮助它们找到彼此。事实上，它们的条纹有时被称为“跟随我条纹”。因为据说当年幼的穿过热带雨林时，这些条纹可以帮助它们紧随自己的母亲。

斑马状条纹并不是身上唯一有趣的地方。它们也有特别的耳朵。它们的两只耳朵可以向不同的方向转动。因此， 可以同时聆听来自不同方向的声音。雄性的头上有短鹿角。雌性的头上有小凸起。它们很像长颈鹿。

被列为濒危动物，因为它们的数量稀少。然而，人们努力保护它们的家园，并在动物园中增加它们的数量。这些措施可能对它们的帮助极大。你可以在世界各地的动物园中找到这种和斑马长得很像的动物。当你在动物园时，还能看到哪些其它长相类似的动物呢？

▏Notes

1. sunburn 晒伤

2. okapi

3. relative 亲属；亲戚related to 与……有关

4. striped 有条纹的、有斑纹的stripe. 条纹

5. neck 颈；脖子

6. savanna 热带；大草原

7. clay 黏土

8. burned 烧焦的

9. hide 隐藏；遮挡

10. blend 融合

11. accidentally 偶然地；意外地

12. trap 陷阱；圈套

13. population 人口

14. male 动物公的；雄性的

15. antler 鹿角

16. bump 肿块；隆起

17. threatened 受到威胁的；濒危的

18. protect 保护

19. look-alike 极为相像的事物或人