OKAPI

Okapi is a beautiful and unusual animal. With its white-and-black striped hindquarters and front legs . The Okapi species is closely related to the giraffe family, not the zebra or even a horse. Okapi is native to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa.

it looks like it must be related to zebras! But take a look at an okapi’s head, and you’ll notice a resemblance to giraffes. okapi is indeed the only living relative of the giraffe.Like a giraffe, the okapi has very large, upright ears, which catch even slight sounds, helping the animal avoid trouble. The okapi also has a long, dark, prehensile tongue, just like a giraffe’s, to help it strip the buds and young leaves from the understory brush of its rain forest home.

Okapis are hard to find in the wild. Their natural habitat is the Ituri Forest, a dense rain forest in central Africa. Okapis are very wary, and their highly developed hearing alerts them to run when they hear humans in the distance. It is believed that there are currently about 25,000 okapis in the wild.

Why does the okapi have zebra-like stripes? These markings, which seem very bold to us, give the animal great camouflage when hiding in the partial sunlight that filters through the dense rain forest. The stripes may also help a young okapi follow its mother through the dark forest, and they may help adults find each other, too. The okapi’s dark purplish or reddish brown fur is dense and feels like velvet. It’s also oily, so water slides right off, keeping the okapi dry on rainy days. Only the males have horns, which are covered by skin and are short and slant backwards so they won’t get tangled in forest branches.

If okapis are related to giraffes, why aren’t they as tall as giraffes? In a rain forest, there are trees with branches hanging down, as well as roots and tree trunks to dodge. Okapis need to have shorter legs and necks to help them swerve around these obstacles. Being really tall is not a good idea in a forest!

Okapis are very shy animals. Their reddish brown-black coat camouflages them in the deep forest. In the thick trees and underbrush, okapis rely on their hearing to warn them of danger. Their huge ears pick up even the softest sounds coming from any direction. They listen for leopards, which hunt adult okapis, as well as smaller wild cats, which can attack a young calf.

Both male and female okapis are most active during the afternoon through the evening. They are important forest browsers, eating 40 to 65 pounds (18 to 29 kilograms) of leaves, twigs, and fruits each day and leaving a “pruning line” in the foliage. Okapi newborns can stand up within 30 minutes of birth and nurse for the first time within an hour of birth.

source : http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/okapi#sthash.TJ6aCABh.dpuf

you can follow the link below and watch this video if you want to know more about Okapi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0nF2CWroqU