ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 

 BULLETIN 



Published by the New York Zoological Society 



Vol. XXI 



May, 1918 



Number 3 



IN QUEST OF THE RARE OKAPI 



H ii Herbert Lang 



Illustrations from plmtos 



Copyright 1918. Herbert Lai 



OX the first of January, 1907. I had the 

 pleasure of turning over to Dr. Hornaday 

 the rarest New Year surprise any mortal 

 has yet received, a little bull black rhinoceros, 

 just arrived on the Steamship Cedric. It was a 

 fitting contribution to a Director who. in a few 

 years of strenuous effort, had succeeded in mak- 

 ing the New York Zoological Park as renowned, 

 if not more so. than those, many decades old. of 

 Europe. The late Mr. Richard Tjader, quick to 

 seize the splendid opportunity, had purchased 

 the little fellow in Mombasa for the New York 

 Zoological Society, and I had gladly taken care 

 of him all the way from British East Africa. 

 This husky orphan gave a most affectionate 

 greeting to the Director and even after so mem- 

 orable an ocean journey was in such perfect 

 health that I needed no further recommenda- 

 tion for a similar undertaking. 



Two years later, in the spring of 1909. Pro- 

 fessor Henry Fairfield Osborn, President of the 

 American Museum of Natural History and the 

 New York Zoological Society, had elaborated 

 the far-sighted plans of the Congo Expedition 

 of which I had the honor to be in charge, with 

 Mr. James P. Chapin, now a Lieutenant in ser- 

 vice in France, as my sole companion. At this 

 time I again saw Dr. Hornaday. His unbound- 

 ed ambition was seething anew, and trusting my 

 ability to care for animals, he saw the chance 

 of securing at least two of the rarest and most 

 interesting mammals, the famous Okapi and 

 white Rhinoceros, neither of which had ever left 

 the African continent alive. Dozens of other 

 rare animals that would be the pride of any 

 zoological garden were on his list of desiderata. 



raphs hy the author. 



as- All rights reserved. 



This expedition was to proceed to Central Af- 

 rica, to the northeastern Belgian Congo, a re- 

 gion most promising for a systematic zoological 

 survey. Up to that time it had been considered 

 impracticable to carry on in this unhealthy 

 country any prolonged zoological exploration, 

 and Schweinfurth, Emin Pasha, Stanley, Junk- 

 er, Casati. Alexander, and Schubotz had passed 

 through these territories with no attempt to 

 make extended collections. The Congo Expedi- 

 tion, however, was organized and equipped to 

 camp for years where others had spent but a 

 few days or months, and the absolute sound- 

 ness of such a hazardous project was proved by 

 our signal success. We set out from New York 

 in May. 1909. and returned with fifty-four tons 

 of collections in November. 1915, without having 

 bad a single accident, nor did we lose a day 

 through illness. Working from 1.200 to 2,000 

 miles inland, we succeeded in attaining results 

 far beyond expectation. In five years of unin- 

 terrupted field work more than 38,000 natives 

 were recruited to carry the 1,287 burdens of 

 sixtv pounds each, since in these districts the 

 porters proceed only short distances and return 

 at once to their villages, when the packs arc 

 shouldered by others. In spite of the careless 

 treatment of the loads by such savages and the 

 difficulties of preservation in a moist and hot 

 climate all collections reached the Museum in 

 perfect condition. 



One of the main objects of the Congo Expe- 

 dition was to realize the wish of President Os- 

 born to obtain for the American public materials 

 for a habitat group of the Okapi before the 

 progress of civilization should make this im- 



