Letterland Unit 18 - /er/ er, ir, ur, ear

I am an okapi. Never heard of me? That’s good because I am shy. I am related to deer, but I am more like a giraffe. My neck is not nearly as long as a giraffe’s. People used to think I was a zebra but we are different. For one, a zebra has up and down stripes on its sides. They are stripes. I don’t have stripes on my sides, but I do have white sideways or stripes around my legs and my—uh—backside. The rest of me is brown. My stripes have a purpose. They camouflage me from meat-eating . That helps me survive. I am six feet tall and I weigh 500 pounds. I’m an or middle-sized okapi. I am from Africa but I live in a wild animal park in North America. Some animals get stirred up and complain about being here. They say we are just here the so humans who ride through on buses can stare at us. I pretend I don’t see them. They don’t disturb me since I just spend my time pulling leaves from branches. I have an extra-long tongue for that. They say there are only a few okapis left on earth. The humans keep us from becoming extinct.Another good thing about living here is that there is a vet. I don’t get hurt often. I am a pretty sturdy animal. But if I do get an injury, they take me to the doctor. I don’t like going and I show it. I guess I act like---well, a wild animal.