Rainforests, as large and sprawling as they are, are divided into 4 vertical layers, the emergent, canopy, understory, and forest floor layers. The okapi inhabits the understory layer, a dark and humid layer of the forest filled with many shrubs and flowering plants located several meters below the canopy.

The thick undergrowth of this forest layer is a huge help when okapi calves are born, the young will often be left on their own for some time while the mother grazes, but they are safe as they can be, tucked away from prying eyes in the gloom of this undergrowth. This moist, damp environment is also perfect for the growth of different fungi and species of fern plants that the okapi will happily snack on if they are not able to find their preferred food source. Despite the dense foliage present throughout the forest, the okapi is able to navigate quite easily, usually following small forest trails that they are familiar with and communicating through low frequency calls in order to find each other.

Also comprising the many layers of a rainforest is the canopy, an often interwoven layer of tree branches, leaves, and fruit, among which a large variety of animals live and thrive. 

In many ways the okapi benefits from these tall-growing trees, the shade they provide not only keeps the okapi from overheating but also provides the perfect environment in which to disappear and hide from it's main predator. The breaking up of sunlight as it streams through the gaps in the canopy creates an effect similar to the spots on a leopard or the stripes on an okapi, both are equally camouflaged by the dappling sunlight. 

The okapi also uses these trees as scent markers to denote territory or let another know about their readiness to mate. Males will spray their urine on nearby trees and both sexes may rub their necks along the sides of the tree. Okapis can exude a brown substance from their skin by performing this act, it carries with it their scent and alerts other animals to their presence.