Simon Pooley
Writer, Historian, Conservationist
Featured Book
Discovering the Okapi
Discovering the Okapi offers a fascinating portrait of the okapi—an elusive short-necked giraffid with zebra stripes, surviving in the rainforests of central Africa's Congo basin—and unpacks the complicated layers of Western science and Indigenous knowledge that shaped the world's understanding of this unique creature.
The book tells the story of the okapi's "discovery" in 1900 by British naturalist Sir Harry Johnston, as well as the overlooked contributions of the Indigenous African people whose expertise made this sighting and subsequent hunt for specimens possible.
The book traces how colonial politics and scientific racism shaped early accounts of the animal's study and examines the enduring biases that continue to influence conservation efforts today.
The okapi became a symbol of scientific curiosity, colonial power, and conservation challenges, revealing complex intersections among biodiversity, cultural heritage, and environmental stewardship.
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Early Reviews
"Pooley has written a comprehensive account of the Western 'discovery' of the okapi. His dissection of this conceit is accompanied by an equally impressive account of okapi research during the imperial era. Throughout, he cultivates an intense empathy for an exceptionally beautiful animal—an emblem for one of the most complex communities on earth, and one of the communities most threatened by unbridled logging today."
Jonathan Kingdon, author of Origin Africa: Safaris in Deep Time & The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals
"In Discovering the Okapi, Simon Pooley has produced a rich history of one of Africa's most enigmatic and endangered animals. Pooley shows how science, art, economics, and politics made this secretive animal into a powerful symbol both of the global biodiversity crisis and of the perils of colonial conservation efforts intended to stop it."
Peter S. Alagona, author of The Accidental Ecosystem: People and Wildlife in American Cities
“I absolutely loved this book. As the subtitle suggests it delves deeply into how Western scientists and explorers came to discover the existence of this beautiful, shy creature, and highlights the many unacknowledged contributions, especially the peoples who share the forest with the okapi. ... It's a book of great humanity, and one which speaks not just to the past, but to the urgency of the current plight of the okapi, its home, and the people who live with it, as the area is devastated by conflict, mining and land clearance. All in all - do read the book! It's witty, sad, and fascinating, and combines erudition with a light touch.”
Dame E.J. Milner-Gulland, Tasso Levantis Professor of Biodiversity, University of Oxford
Supplementary materials
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