Habitat: Tropical Rain Forest of Central Africa
Status: Near Threatened
DAK Locale: Pangani Forest Trail, Kidani Village
The okapi is a confusing animal to the general public. They have white stripes on their front legs and hindquarters. This leads many to believe its related to the zebra, but it is not. Look closely at their heads and faces and you will see the resemblance to its closest relative, the giraffe. They also have a long, prehensile tongue used to pull leaves high in the forest. They also share this with the giraffe.
Okapis are difficult to find. In fact, they were one of the last animals discovered by western science, not being identified in scientific journals until the turn of the 20th century. Those zebra like legs and dark reddish upper torso are surprisingly difficult to spot in the thick Congo jungle. It makes for great camouflage in the broken sunlight. The reddish velvety fur is quite oily allowing the rainwater to slide off.
Okapi are solitary in nature. Males tend to keep other males out of their territories which can be up to 2.5 miles in area. The animals tend to be active in the late afternoon and evening. Females are slightly taller than males but the biggest difference to the animal watcher is that males have horns, although they are short and covered in fur. This is so the horns do not get entangled in the dense vegetation.
Okapi are near threatened, but the thick jungle, great camouflage, and political situation of the area makes it difficult to get a good idea on the status of the animal. However, it is estimated that there are 25,000 in the wild and they are not listed as endangered at this time.
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