# Event Details - **Event Name**: Book launch - Discovering the Okapi - **Event Start and End Date**: Tue, 02 Dec, 2025 at 06:00 pm – Tue, 02 Dec, 2025 at 07:30 pm - **Event Description**: Hear from author Dr Simon Pooley as he discusses his new book, and learn about ZSL's 125-year-long history with this enigmatic animal.About this EventJoin us for the launch of Discovering the Okapi by Simon Pooley. Hear stories about the creation of the book, including behind the scenes at London Zoo and the Natural History Museum. Learn the fascinating story of ZSL's history with okapi, and take part in an audience Q&A with the author.There will be an opportunity to purchase copies of the book (at a 30% discount) during the evening.Discovering the Okapi: Western Science, Indigenous Knowledge, and the Search for a Rainforest Enigma (Johns Hopkins University Press)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. Combining history, science, and cultural analysis, this book unpacks the complicated layers of Western science and indigenous knowledge that shape the world's understanding of this unique and endangered creature.It tells the story of the okapi's "discovery" in 1900 by British naturalist Sir Harry Johnston, and the over-looked contributions of the indigenous African people whose expertise made this sighting and subsequent hunt for specimens possible. As Jonathan Kingdon notes, the book includes “an impressive account of okapi research during the imperial era,” but also 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.Richly detailed and deeply personal, Discovering the Okapi urges us to preserve biodiversity in a world of clashing worldviews and to view the okapi not just as an object of fascination, but as a powerful symbol of shared responsibility for our planet's future. As Kingdon observes of the book, "throughout, Pooley cultivates an intense empathy for an exceptionally beautiful animals - an emblem for one of the most complex communities on earth."About the Author: Dr Simon PooleyDr Simon Pooley is Lambert Reader in Human-Wildlife Coexistence at Birkbeck University of London. In addition, he is affiliated with ZSL; School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; Coexistence Consortium, India; and the Centre for World Environmental History, University of Sussex. Simon grew up on crocodile research stations in nature reserves in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He leads working groups on coexisting with wild animals for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Human-Wildlife Conflict & Coexistence, and Crocodile, Specialist Groups. Simon has been interested in okapi since childhood, and during a period of recuperation after dengue fever extending into the COVID-19 lockdowns, and following visits to ZSL London Zoo, started work on his book Discovering the Okapi as a recovery project.Attending this eventThis event is free to attend but registration is required so we can monitor event numbers.The event will feature a presentation from the author, followed by a Q&A discussion. It will run from 6:00pm - 7:30pm, and doors will open at 5:30pm.Seats are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.Venue: Huxley Lecture Theatre at the Meeting Rooms of the Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, NW1 4RY.Travel: Nearest underground: Camden Town Station; Nearest bus: no. 274.Further InformationFor enquiries about this event, please email scientific.events@zsl.org.For press enquiries, please contact the ZSL Press Office: press.office@zsl.org.Sign up here to receive email updates about upcoming ZSL Science and Conservation Events, or browse our What's on page here.Listen to our ZSL Wild Science podcast here or subscribe on your favourite podcast app.Read the latest blog posts from our scientists and conservationists here.Follow us on Twitter @ZSLScience to hear about new publications from our researchers, upcoming events and podcast episode releases.Follow us on Facebook @ZSLScienceAndConservation to receive notifications about new events.To catch up on all our previous online events, you can find them on our YouTube channel, or here.For more information about how to join the ZSL Fellowship programme and engage with a network of thousands who are shaping the future of conservation, please click here. https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/138a07f0-b699-11f0-9743-6fdd05a2854c-rimg-w493-h740-dce8eeee-gmir.jpg - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/london/book-launch-discovering-the-okapi/100001753147323839 - **Event Categories**: art, literary-art, meetups, christmas - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 ## Ticket Details - **Ticket URL**: https://consumer.pxf.io/c/1339408/3151484/39691?partnerpropertyid=1191892&MediaPartnerPropertyId=1191892&svlink=14105511&level=1&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eventbrite.com%2Fe%2Fbook-launch-discovering-the-okapi-tickets-1753147323839 - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 0, currency: USD ## Event venue details - **city**: London - **state**: EN - **country**: United Kingdom - **location**: Huxley Lecture Theatre, ZSL Meeting Rooms - **lat**: 51.5352875 - **long**: -0.1534303 - **full address**: Huxley Lecture Theatre, ZSL Meeting Rooms, Zoological Society of London, London, United Kingdom ## Event Organizer details - **affiliate_id**: 10 - **organizer**: ZSL Science and Conservation Events (https://allevents.in/org/zsl-science-and-conservation-events/22756063) ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: banner - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/4b9e1faa76ea4da728dbfa922c227e5cf6cd072c185ede28dd049e4a678da6ec-rimg-w1200-h901-dc181008-gmir.jpg?v=1761942910 - **Alt text**: thumbnail - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/a06bc37f1ebac546c9d7d2aa598eb259e1a0dca1ac95d39534f92b9a5a46c1c1-rimg-w400-h400-dc4c4330-gmir.jpg?v=1761942910 ## FAQs - **Q**: When is the event happening? - **A:** Tue, 02 Dec, 2025 at 06:00 pm - **Q**: Where is the event happening? - **A:** Huxley Lecture Theatre, ZSL Meeting Rooms, Zoological Society of London, London, United Kingdom - **Q**: What is the ticket price? - **A:** starting from 0 up to 0 USD - **Q**: Who is organizing the event? - **A:** ZSL Science and Conservation Events - **Q**: What type of event is this? - **A:** art, literary-art, meetups, christmas - **Q**: Where can I find ticket details about Book launch - Discovering the Okapi ? - **A:** You can find ticket details about this event on AllEvents. ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Event", "name": "Book launch - Discovering the Okapi", "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/4b9e1faa76ea4da728dbfa922c227e5cf6cd072c185ede28dd049e4a678da6ec-rimg-w1200-h901-dc181008-gmir.jpg?v=1761942910", "startDate": "2025-12-02", "endDate": "2025-12-02", "url": "https://allevents.in/london/book-launch-discovering-the-okapi/100001753147323839", "location": { "@type": "Place", "name": "Huxley Lecture Theatre, ZSL Meeting Rooms", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "Zoological Society of London", "postalCode": "NW1 4RY", "addressLocality": "London", "addressRegion": "EN", "addressCountry": "GB" }, "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": "51.5352875", "longitude": "-0.1534303" } }, "eventAttendanceMode": "https://schema.org/OfflineEventAttendanceMode", "description": "Hear from author Dr Simon Pooley as he discusses his new book, and learn about ZSL's 125-year-long history with this enigmatic animal.", "offers": [ { "@type": "AggregateOffer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-04-02", "availabilityEnds": "2025-12-02", "validFrom": "2026-04-02", "lowPrice": "0.00", "highPrice": "0.00", "price": "0.00", "url": "https://allevents.in/london/book-launch-discovering-the-okapi/100001753147323839" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-04-02", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-04-02", "url": "https://allevents.in/london/book-launch-discovering-the-okapi/100001753147323839", "price": 0, "name": "General Admission" } ], "organizer": [ { "@type": "Organization", "name": "ZSL Science and Conservation Events", "url": "https://allevents.in/org/zsl-science-and-conservation-events/22756063" } ] } ] ```