Okapi

blicofConggo(formerly
Ra
ange:north
heastregion
nofDemoccraticRepub
Zaaire)inAfricca Habitatt:tropicalrrainforest

Itsrelatedtogiraffes?!

Theo
okapi(pron
nouncedohCOPee)issabeautifuulandunusu
ualanimal.Withits
white
eandblackkstripedhindquartersandfrontllegs,itlookkslikeitmu
ustbe
relatedtozebraas!Buttake
ealookataanokapishheadandyo
oullnoticea
resem
mblancetogiraffes.
Theo
okapiisindeedtheonlylivingrelaativeoftheegiraffe.Likkegiraffes,okapishave
verylarge,uprigghtears,wh
hichcatche
evenslightsounds,heelpingthemtoavoid
ble.Theyallsohavelon
ng,darkpre
ehensiletonngues,justlikeagirafffes,tohelp
p
troub
them
mstriptheb
budsandyo
oungleavessfromtheuunderstory brushofth
heirrain
foressthome.

Calllmebasshful
Okap
pisarehard
dtofindintthewild.Th
heirnaturalhabitatisttheIturiForest,a
densserainforesstincentralAfrica.Okkapisareverywary,an
ndtheirhigh
hly
deve
elopedhearringalertsthemtorun
nwhentheyyhearhumansinthed
distance.In
n
fact,whilenativvesoftheItturiForestkknewofokaapisandwo
ouldoccasionallycatch
h
ntistsdidno
otknowofttheanimaluntil1900.The
oneiintheirpitttraps,scien
secre
etivenature
eofokapisandthediffficultymossthumansh
haveoftravvelingin
theirrhabitathavemadeokkapishardttoobserveinthewild..Therefore,
reseaarcherscan
nonlyestim
matehowm
manyokapislivethere.Itisbelieveedthat
there
earecurren
ntlyabout2
25,000okap
pisinthew
wild.

Madeforarainforrest

Why doestheo
okapihavezzebralikesttripes?Theesemarkinggs,whichseeemvery
ouflagewhenhidingin
nthepartiaalsunlight
boldtous,givetheanimalgreatcamo
nserainforrest.Thestrripesmayaalsohelpyo
oungokapiss
thatfiltersthroughtheden
wtheirmotthersthrou
ughthedarkkforest,anndtheymayyhelpadulttokapisfind
d
follow
eachother,too.Theokapisdarkpurp
plishorredddishbrown
nfurfeelsliikevelvet.
esrightoff,keepingtheokapidryyonrainydays.Only
Itsalsooily,sowaterslide
maleshavehorns,whicharecove
eredbyskinnandaresh
hortsotheyywontget
them
tangledinforesstbranches.
Ifokaapisarerelatedtogiraaffes,whyaarenttheyastallasgiiraffes?Inaarainforestt,
there
earetreeswithbrancheshanginggdown,aswellasroo
otsandtreeetrunksto
dodgge.Okapisn
needtohavveshorterle
egsandnecckstohelpthemswervearound
these
eobstacles.Beingrealllytallisnotagoodideeainaforeest!


eek
Hideandse

Okap
pisoftentraaveluptoaahalfmile(0.8kilometters)adayinsearchofffood,
usuallyalongtraailsworndo
ownbygen
nerationsoffokapis.Th
heyaregenerally
solitaaryanimalss,unlessanadultfemaalehasacalfwithher.
Adultmales,wh
hosehomerangescovermoreareea,cantravvelupto2.5miles(4
meters)adaay.Themalestrytoke
eepotherm
malesoutofftheirterrittoriesbut
kilom
willaallowfemalestotravelthroughin
nsearchoffood.Bothmalesandfemalesarre
mosttactivedurringtheafte
ernoonthro
oughtheevvening.Theeyarebrowsers,eatingg
40to
o65poundss(18to29kilograms)ofleaves,ttwigs,andffruitseachd
day.Okapiss
have
ealsobeenseeneatinggclayandb
burntcharcoal,probab
blyformineerals.And
justllikegiraffess,sheep,an
ndgoats,okkapisareruminants.AtttheSanDiegoZoo
andttheWildAn
nimalPark,okapisarefedalfalfahayandpeellets,leafyacacia
branches,carrots,andyam
ms.

earditth
hroughtthegrap
pevine
Ihe
Whileokapistraavelforthe
emostpartbythemselveswithintheirhomeeranges,
waysofcom
mmunicatinggwithotheerswhoseraangesoverlap.Ascentt
theystillhavew
doneachfo
ootleavesb
behindasticky,tarlikkesubstanceewhereverrtheyhave
gland
walked,markinggtheirterriitory.Bycheckingtheground,an
nokapicantellif
anotherokapih
hasbeenthere.Malesalsomarkttheirterrito
orybyurineespraying.
mallysilent,,femaleokaapisvocalizzeonlywheentheyarereadytobrreed.
Norm

Calffcare

Okap
pinewbornscanstand
dupwithin30minutessofbirthan
ndwillnurseforthe
firstttimewithin
nanhouroffbirth.Theyhavethesamecolorringasanadultbut
have
eashortfrin
ngeofhairalongthesspine,whichhgenerallydisappearssbythe
timetheyare12
2to14mon
nthsold.Inthewild,m
mothershid
detheirnew
wborn
esinonesp
pot,returnin
ngregularlyytoallowthhecalftonurse.
calve
Okap
picalvesdefecate(poo
op)fortheffirsttimebeetweenfou
urandeighttweeksof
age.Thisadaptaationhelpskeeppredaatorsfromsniffingouttthehiddennewbornss
untiltheyhavehadachancetogrowandgainsttrength.Calveswilltripletheir
bytheendoftheirseccondmonth
hbutwillnootreachfullladultsizeeuntilthreee
sizeb
yearssofage.

Helpingthe
eokapi
Thecchangingpo
oliticsofcentralAfricaaandthecoontinuedlossofhabitaatthreaten
theb
beautifulokkapi.Fortun
nately,in19
952,onefiffthofokapihabitatinAfricasIturi
Forestwassetaasideasaw
wildlifereserve.TheOkkapiWildliffeReserve,with
portfromth
heSanDiegoZoo,othe
erzoosandconservatiionorganizations,and
supp
thelo
ocalpeople
e,continuesstoprotecttandtosuppportstudyyofthisrareeand
unussualforestd
dweller.

ormationretrievedfrom
m
Photosandinfo
http:://www.san
ndiegozoo.o
org/animalb
bytes/tokaapi.html
(gototheSanD
DiegoZoow
websiteformoreinform
mation/acttivitiesonth
heOkapi)