Okapis
Which animal is the closest living relative to the okapi?
a) giraffe b) horse, or c) zebra
An African animal so secretive it was once believed to be a mythical unicorn.
Okapi: Okapia Johnstoni: African Unicorn
Okapi (pronounced oh-COP-ee) are amazing looking animals. They have an incredibly soft velvet-like coat, dark chestnut brown to purplish red. The upper legs are striped, with a pattern much like a zebra, although their closest living relative is the giraffe. The lower legs are white as snow, with black bands at the joints. Okapi have a horse-like head, a thick neck and back legs that are much shorter than the front. Male okapis have skin covered "knobs" on their heads. They have huge dark colored ears and a blue-black tongue, long enough to wash its own eyelids and ears.
Okapis in the wild:
Although okapis are not classified as endangered, they are threatened by habitat destruction and poaching. Conservation work in the Congo includes the continuing study of okapi behavior, which led to the creation in 1992 of the Okapi Wildlife Resere. The Reserve is a World Heritage Site in the Ituri Forest in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, near the borders with Sudan and Uganda. At a size of approx 14,000 km², it covers apout one fifth of the area of the forest. The reserve is home to many other rain forest animals and plant species.
As of 1996, the number of okapis in the Reserve was estimated at about 5000, out of a global population of around 10,000–20,000.
The most outstanding threats to the Okapi Wildlife Reserve result from illegal immigration of farmers into the Reserve, illegal mining, and uncontrolled hunting (poaching).
You can help support the okapi conservation effort by donating to the efforts of Wildlife Direct. Go to: