Rainforest Animals - Okapi

Okapi: Okapia johnstoni - Central Africa

IUCN Red List status: Endangered

Unknown to science until 1900, when it was discovered by H.H. Johnston, the Okapi is the only living relative of the giraffe and shares the family name Giraffidae.

This large animal has shorter legs than the giraffe and a shorter neck. It stands about 5ft (approximately 152 centimetres) at the shoulder and has a sleek purplish coloured coat with black and white bars on the legs. The head is giraffe-like, with a long muzzle, mobile lips and a long tongue for seizing foliage. The horns, which occur only in the males, are capped with a small polished tip which alone protrudes from the skin covering.

Okapis live in the densest parts of the rainforest, where they live a solitary existence or move in pairs. They feed on leaves of trees, shrubs and epiphytes. The colouring of the okapi renders it practically invisible even at a short distance.