Okapi

The generic name Okapia derives either from the Mbuba name okapi or the related Lese Karo name o'api,

The okapi is a medium-sized giraffid, it has a long neck, and large and flexible ears. In sharp contrast to the white horizontal stripes on the legs and white ankles, the okapi's coat is a chocolate to reddish brown. The distinctive stripes resemble those of a zebra. These features serve as an effective camouflage amidst dense vegetation. The face, throat, and chest are greyish white. Interdigital glands are present on all four feet, and are slightly larger on the front feet.

Which are similar in form and function to the ossicones of a giraffe, male okapis have short, hair-covered horn-like structures called ossicones and the okapi exhibits sexual dimorphism. While the female was taller on average, slightly redder, and lacking prominent ossicones, instead possessing hair whorls.

The okapi's enormous spinning ears let them to detect predators, particularly leopards, and they had excellent hearing. Its long, 30-cm prehensile tongue was employed for grooming, washing the eyes and ears, and removing leaves. The okapi is adept at negotiating tight routes through dense forests. Okapis often avoid water and favor solid forest ground, however they can swim if needed.

Okapis do not fight by necking, in contrast to giraffes. Male okapis use their heads and ossicones to fight, swinging their skulls sideways. Their necks are too short to engage in giraffe-style neck fights.

Okapis are primarily diurnal, but may be active for a few hours in darkness. They are essentially solitary, coming together only to breed. They have overlapping home ranges and typically occur at densities around 0.6 animals per square kilometer. Males often mark territories and bushes with their urine, while females use common defecation sites. Grooming is a common practice, focused at the earlobes and the neck. Okapis often rub their necks against trees, leaving a brown exudate.

he male is protective of his territory, but allows females to pass through the domain to forage. Males visit female home ranges at breeding time. Although generally tranquil, the okapi can kick and butt with its head to show aggression. As the vocal cords are poorly developed, vocal communication is mainly restricted to three sounds — "chuff" (contact calls used by both sexes), "moan" (by females during courtship) and "bleat" (by infants under stress). Individuals may engage in Flehmen response, a visual expression in which the animal curls back its upper lips, displays the teeth, and inhales through the mouth for a few seconds. The leopard is the main natural predator of the okapi.

Okapi are limited to closed, high canopy forests between about 450 m asl and 1,500 m asl and they occur in a wide range of primary and older secondary forest types. They do not extend into gallery forests or the forest-savannah ecotone and do not persist in disturbed habitats surrounding larger settlements.

The okapi played a crucial role in the ecology by dispersing seeds and preserving the structure of the forest through selective browsing. Leopards, lions, pythons, jackals, crocodiles, and painted dogs were their main predators; humans, hippos, and chimpanzees were indirectly affected by habitat loss or persecution.

Reproduction

• Solitary animals except during mating.

• Gestation: ~14–15 months (very long for a mammal their size).

• Usually one calf, hidden in vegetation for weeks after birth (“nesting phase”).

• Calves don’t defecate for up to 2 months to avoid attracting predators.

Okapis are shy, evasive, solitary, crepuscular, and primarily active during the day (diurnal). They mark their territory with smell glands and excrement. The okapi avoids human interaction and is extremely cautious and unfriendly in the wild. This giraffe is normally non-aggressive unless provoked; in captivity, it is peaceful and friendly with keepers, although it is nevertheless easily stressed.

Threats

• Habitat destruction from logging, mining, and agriculture.

• Instability and armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

• Snare traps and poaching (though okapis are not a main hunting target).

• Small, fragmented populations.

• Persecuted by native species.

Conservation Status

• IUCN Red List: Endangered (EN)

Conservation Efforts

• Protected under Congolese law.

• Okapi Wildlife Reserve (UNESCO World Heritage Site).

• Anti-poaching patrols.

• Research and captive breeding programs.

• Population trend: declining but stable in managed reserves.

• Awareness campaigns against illegal pet trade.

The okapi is endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it occurs north and east of the Congo River. It ranges from the Maiko National Park northward to the Ituri rainforest, then through the river basins of the Rubi, Lake Tele, and Ebola to the west and the Ubangi River further north. Smaller populations exist west and south of the Congo River. It is also common in the Wamba and Epulu areas. It was extinct in Uganda in ancient times, but later became extinct in the late 1970s.

• Movement Pattern: Nomadic

• Individual Type: Solo

• Population Trend: Decreasing

• Population: 22,000

• Locomotion: Terrestrial

• Habitat: Taiga; Montane Grasslands and Shrublands; Temperate Coniferous Forests; Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests; Temperate Deciduous Forests, Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Subtropical Coniferous Forests; Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Salt Flats; Stone Forest; Tropical Coniferous Forests; Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Grasslands; Tropical Savannas and Shrublands; Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub; Mushroom Forests; Mushroom Fields; Deserts and Xeric Shrublands; Badlands; Flooded Grasslands and Savannas; Swamp; Bayous/Billabongs; Riparian; Wetland; Mangrove Forest; Cold Bamboo Forests; Tropical Bamboo Forests.

• Earth: 

  • Extant (Resident): DR Congo

  • Extinct: Uganda

• Berbania: Hirojafza

• Reinachos: Pascua

The okapi's large size, specialized diet, shy disposition, and requirement for a large amount of forest space make them unsuitable as pets in our universe. Complete legal protection; private ownership is forbidden; and only zoos with accreditation engage in captive breeding initiatives.

400s BCE

Although the okapi was unknown to the Western world until the 20th century, it may have been depicted since the early fifth century BCE on the façade of the Apadana at Persepolis, a gift from the Ethiopian procession to the Achaemenid kingdom. The facade in the description was either a giraffe calf or okapi in ancient history from the processor in Eritrea or Ethiopia. The okapi is sometimes referred to as a living fossil, as it has existed as a species over a long geological time period, and morphologically resembles more primitive forms. Indigenous peoples of the Congo historically knew the species long before Western science “discovered” it in 1901.

Earth

• Tagalog: Okapi (ᜂᜃᜉᜒ)

• Indonesian: Okapi

• Hawaiian: Okapi

• Maori: Okapi

• Thai: โอคาปิ

• Mandarin: 㺢㹢狓 (Huòjiāpí)

• Korean: 오가비 (Ogabi), 오카피 (Okapi)

• Japanese: オカピ (Okapi)

• Turkish: Okapi

• Hungarian: Okapi

• Belarusian: Акапі

• Polish: Okapi

• Esperanto: Okapio

• French: Ocapi, Okapi, Mondonga

• Spanish: Ocapi, Okapi, Mondonga

• Aragonese: Ocapi, Okapi

• Afrikaans: Okapi

• Deutsch: Okapi

• Congolese: Atti

• Lingala: Mondonga

Coming soon

• Coming soon

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okapi

• https://oi.uchicago.edu/collections/photographic-archives/persepolis/apadana 

• https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15188/51140517 

• https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/okapi 

• https://a-z-animals.com/animals/okapi/

• https://denverzoo.org/animals/okapi/

• https://www.deviantart.com/ognimdo2002/art/Okapi-918644947