Best 5 Ungulates of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

It’s a common occurrence. You’re going to the Democratic Republic of the Congo for a nice, pleasant vacation, and you want to see the wildlife. But big cats and elephants are so last season; you want to know about the ungulates! So here’s a list of animals you shouldn’t miss out on, in all their hoofy glory.

5. Water Chevrotain

The common name of these guys, the fanged deer, should give it all away. True, the “fangs” are really just tusks, and this member of the Tragulidae family is strictly a vegetarian, but don’t be fooled. I can just see the mean streak in those eyes; you just don’t mess with a critter of this sort.

 

4. Bongo 

There are, admittedly, a large number of ungulates that, while large and in possession of some arguably awesome horns, are kind of boring. To represent that group with a bit more pizzazz, I present the bongo, a forest-dwelling herbivore that frankly seems to be an evolutionary anomaly with its striking red coat that screams, “Eat me!”   

3. Northern White Rhino

I feel bad for these guys. They’re one of those animals you really want to take a ride on, but based on their critically endangered status, you’d probably get some park ranger really pissed off in the process. Scientists fear that there aren’t anymore in the wild, and it’s really a shame; with their unique horn and cool armor-y hide, these even-toed ungulates are not to be missed.

2. Aardvark

Honestly, is there anything besides an aardvark that looks like an aardvark? It looks like the child from your grandfather’s affair with an anteater and naked mole rat. There’s a reason these creatures are nocturnal; no one but people with a morbid fascination with hideousness would want to see these by the light of day. Although, there is something kind of cute about them…

  

1. Okapi

The okapi is, with a doubt, the most awesome ungulate of DRC. Is it a deer, is it a zebra, nobody knows! (It’s related to the giraffe.) The Western world didn’t even find out about them until the 1890’s, and when the first skins were sent back to England in 1901, there was a veritable media frenzy. And why shouldn’t there have been? They can lick their own eyes! Their own eyes! If that doesn’t qualify this species as superior to all other Congolese hoofed animals, I don’t know what would.