Who "Discovered" the Okapi?

Be kind to yourself this year. Using Zocdoc is FREE - visit our sponsor https://zocdoc.com/BIZARREBEASTS to find and instantly book an appointment with a top-rated, in-network doctor today! Is the okapi cryptozoology's greatest success story? If the locals were always just describing a giraffe relative from their backyard, was it ever a cryptid at all? Who decides that an animal is "real"? Subscribe to the pin club here: https://complexly.store/products/bizarre-beasts-pin-subscription This month's pin is designed by Kory Bing. You can find out more about her and her work here: https://korybing.com/ You can cancel any time by emailing [email protected] Find out more about the National Geographic Photo Ark here: https://www.joelsartore.com/ Learn more about the Okapi Conservation Project here: https://www.okapiconservation.org/ Follow us on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bizarrebeastsshow/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BizarreBeastsShow/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bizarrebeastsshow.bsky.social #BizarreBeasts #okapi ----- Sources: https://archive.org/details/romanceofnatural00gossrich/page/284/mode/2up https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/tetrapod-zoology/misreading-the-mokele-mbembe-the-mokele-mbembe-part-1/ https://archive.org/details/savageafricabein00read/page/374/mode/2up https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/okapi https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/okapi https://www.paceproject.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Pace-Okapi-Booklet-digital.pdf https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Okapia_johnstoni/ https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0001578/19310711/028/0005# https://web.archive.org/web/20080913201957/http://www.zsl.org/field-conservation/news/first-ever-pictures-of-africas-unicorn,514,NS.html http://www.cryptozoonews.com/ics-2016-pt1/ https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-22246-2_26 https://library.si.edu/donate/adopt-a-book/darkest-africa https://readingroo.ms/4/3/6/5/43655/43655-h/43655-h.htm#APPENDIX_B https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG124957 https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53714/discovering-okapi?srsltid=AfmBOoqrp9j0BGuAzjOGglZZurz0TJYNxhK7DdOAWsKunAWxqN4HUSoI https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/belgian-king-establishes-congo-free-state/ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/31590976#page/90/mode/1up https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/177812#page/1/mode/1up https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/99488#page/52/mode/1up https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/fantastic-creatures/ https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/scramble-africa https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15188/51140517 https://www.nrdc.org/stories/new-deal-okapi-africas-unicorn https://www.iucncontributionsfornature.org/contributions/9879?lat=49.9555081&lng=45.9441973&zoom=3 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/295908918_Okapi_Okapia_johnstoni_Conservation_Strategy_and_Status_Review#pfb ------ Images: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bETQgMcHunqlyFx-MhCAWjgeaxTAwGbxR9I4HnzOUy8/edit?tab=t.0