Forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe, Zebra giraffe
The okapi (Okapia johnstoni) is an artiodactyl mammal that is found only in central Africa. It was not discovered until 1901. Okapia johnstoni, its taxonomic name, honors its native Central African name, as well as the man who ‘discovered’ it, the British explorer Sir Harry Johnston, naturalist, and colonial administrator. Native pygmies in Central Africa had known about this animal, which they thought of as a type of horse, for generations, and this was the description of it they gave to Sir Henry Morton Stanley (the man who found Dr. Livingtone, reportedly with the words, ‘Dr. Livingstone, I presume’). The okapi is, in fact, a forest-dwelling relative of the giraffe.
Di
DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
He
HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
Fo
FolivoreIn zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less ...
Te
TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Pr
PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
Cu
CursorialA cursorial organism is one that is adapted specifically to run. An animal can be considered cursorial if it has the ability to run fast (e.g. chee...
No
NomadicNomadic animals regularly move to and from the same areas within a well-defined range. Most animals travel in groups in search of better territorie...
Vi
ViviparousAmong animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
Br
BrowsingBrowsing is a type of herbivory in which an herbivore (or, more narrowly defined, a folivore) feeds on leaves, soft shoots, or fruits of high-growi...
Te
TerritorialA territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
Po
PolygynyPolygyny is a mating system in which one male lives and mates with multiple females but each female only mates with a single male.
So
SolitaryDo
Dominance hierarchyA dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social gr...
No
Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
O
starts withWe
Weird AnimalsThe okapi has a long neck and large and flexible ears. In sharp contrast to the white horizontal stripes on the legs and white ankles, the okapi's coat is a chocolate to reddish brown. The distinctive stripes resemble those of a zebra. These features serve as an effective camouflage amidst dense vegetation. The face, throat, and chest are greyish-white. Interdigital glands are present on all four feet and are slightly larger on the front feet. Male okapis have short, hair-covered horn-like structures called ossicones, less than 15 cm (5.9 in) in length, which are similar in form and function to the ossicones of a giraffe. Females of this species are 4.2 cm (1.7 in) taller on average, slightly redder than males, and lack prominent ossicones, instead possessing hair whorls.
Okapis are endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they occur north and east of the Congo River. They range from the Maiko National Park northward to the Ituri rainforest, then through the river basins of the Rubi, Lake Tele, and Ebola to the west and the Ubangi River further north. Smaller populations exist west and south of the Congo River. Okapis are also common in the Wamba and Epulu areas. These animals inhabit canopy forests and occasionally use seasonally inundated areas; however, they do not occur in gallery forests, swamp forests, and habitats disturbed by human settlements. In the wet season, they visit rocky inselbergs that offer forage uncommon elsewhere.
Okapis are diurnal, being most active in the daytime, spending most of their time traveling along set paths within the forest foraging. They are solitary except for mothers with calves but will tolerate other individuals, occasionally feeding together for short periods of time in small groups. They have overlapping home ranges, with males tending to have larger territories than females, which an individual will mark with both urine and rubbing its neck on trees. Males travel continuously within their habitats, while females remain in their territories continuously. The males use their necks also to fight one another both to settle disputes about territory and when competing for access to females in the breeding season. They communicate using quiet "chuff" noises and in the forest, they strongly rely on their hearing, as they do not have good eyesight.
Okapis are mainly herbivores (folivores). They eat the leaves, shoots, and buds of over 100 species of forest vegetation. They also eat grasses, ferns, fruits, and fungi.
Okapis are solitary in the wild, primarily coming together for mating, which indicates a polygynous mating system (one male mating with multiple females). Young are born from August through October. After a gestation of up to 16 months, a mother retreats into dense vegetation to give birth to a single offspring. Usually, the calf can stand within 30 minutes and the mother and her baby begin looking for a good nest place. They stay in the nest for two months, affording the necessary protection from hungry predators. The calf is usually weaned at about the age of 6 months but may suckle from its mother for over a year.
Deforestation and loss of habitat to agriculture and human settlements are threats to the okapi. They are also poached for meat and their unique pelts.
According to the IUCN Red List resource, the total population size of the okapi is around 35,000-50,000 individuals. According to UNESCO resource, the total population size is 30,000 individuals. Currently, okapis are classified as endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, and their numbers today are decreasing.
Being herbivores, okapis may have a role in the structuring of plant communities. They may also affect predator populations, as items of prey.
