On the Origin of Zebraphants

Rachel Allison asked:
Just how big is Zebraphant’s nose? This question has haunted me entirely too long… the space of about three minutes to be exact. Ever since I read your latest post over on A Recreational Read. 😀

Rachel, zebraphants are very strange creatures. It’s a little-known fact that zebraphants actually have varying-sized noses! (They can change the size of their noses at will.) Unfortunately, zebraphants are not naturally-occurring animals. They were created by a Dutch scientist (whose name I will here exclude) in the late 1800s. One of the big topics in the 1800s in Denmark, as everyone knows, was the size of one’s nose.

Now, this scientist did not want to begin his experiments with humans, so he started with elephants (on the thought that elephants had a lot of nose to work with). His genetic experiments brought us the zebraphant. (The zebra was mixed in to add stripes, which were also very popular in 19th century Denmark.) He released his creatures into the wilds of Gabon. You can still see them, if you’re lucky. (Click here to see a captive specimen.)

Thanks Rachel!
~XK

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