Field research with radio collars in the 1980s provided us with what little information there is to know about okapis. This lack of information presents numerous conservation issues for researchers and groups trying to save this species. These seven additional facts about the okapi are current knowledge.
1. Okapi are Considered a "Living Fossil"
Okapi are members of the vast and varied Giraffidae family, which formerly roamed Africa millions of years ago. Since okapi and giraffes are the only living members of the giraffids, scientists surmise that they descended from a common ancestor. Both species have a long evolutionary history spanning several epochs.
It's one of the reasons why the okapi is referred to as a "living fossil," a label seen even in a New York Times piece published in 1982. John Noble Wilford wrote in the ancient paper that "any seeker seeking lost, fabled, or otherwise enigmatic creatures on the earth finds encouragement in the account of the okapi."
2. Okapi Can Eat Bat Excrement
Okapi are voracious feeders, consuming 45 to 60 pounds of food a day on average. Their diet is distinct since they are the only species that live in rainforests and only eat understory flora, which includes leaves, twigs, fruits, and occasionally fungi. Apart from the more than a hundred plant species available to them, okapi also consume mineral-rich clay, charcoal, and even bat droppings as a source of extra nourishment.
3. Okapi are the Closest Living Relative to the Giraffe
The "forest giraffe" nickname is another one for the okapi, referring to its natural environment in the thick Ituri Rainforest. You might be shocked to learn that an okapi is the only extant relative of a giraffe if all you had access to was a picture of one. The giraffidae family, which was formerly far more widespread, lost all of its members.
The okapi shares evolutionary similarities with its considerably taller and lankier cousin, despite its striped hindquarters giving it a zebra-like appearance that once led scientists to categorize them as cousins of the zebra.
For instance, okapi, like giraffes, use their long, dark tongues to clean their ears and remove the new leaves from jungle plants. To get water, they also have to spread their abnormally long, socketed legs. Naturally, though, the forest-dwelling okapi finds little use for a tall, slender neck, as its skies are obscured by a thick canopy that hangs over it.
4. Okapi is a Flagship Species of the Democratic Republic of Congo
Not only are okapi famous for their long lifespans, but they are also regarded as a national symbol of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the only country in the world where they are found. Being a flagship species in the Ituri Rainforest, they represent the preservation of a particular area. Therefore, the emblem of the Institute in Congo for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN) and the additional houses of the okapi outside of the lush foliage are found on Congolese bank notes.
The okapi is highly valued by the indigenous people of the area. The Lese tribes' language is where the species' name originates since they call the animal "o'api." Lese arrow patterns are also reminiscent of the striped patterns found on the okapi's rump.
5. Okapi are Highly Adept at Survival
Okapi have developed a variety of distinctive characteristics and behaviors that enable them to survive in the rainforest, such as having stripes resembling fingerprints, a secret language, and autonomously rotating ears.
According to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, its conservation scientists have discovered the okapis' code, known as "infrasonic mutterings." These murmurs occur at a frequency that is higher than what people can hear, and more significantly, higher than that of their main predator, the leopard.
The San Diego Zoo speculates that okapi moms may have evolved these low-frequency cries as a way to discreetly communicate with their calves without being noticed.
Okapi uses their acute senses of hearing and smell in addition to their silent code to identify possible threats. Their big ears can turn in different directions, allowing them to hear sounds coming from the left, right, and front.
Each individual's stripes on their back and hind legs are so distinctive that they may be uniquely identified, much like a fingerprint set. Called "follow me" stripes because of their simplicity, these patterns enable calves to follow their moms through the vegetation. However, they also serve as an efficient kind of camouflage, resembling the flickering light beams that descend to the ground after breaking through the rainforest canopy.
Another hilarious survival strategy is similar to essential constipation: newborn okapi wait to poop for at least a month following birth in order to protect the weakling from being discovered by a nearby leopard.
6. The Okapi Was Not Known to Western Science Until the 1900s
The turn of the 20th century saw the okapi's introduction to Western science and expertise. The British-American Henry Morton Stanley reported seeing the species for the first time around 1890. A little over ten years later, Harry Hamilton Johnston discovered that the enigmatic creature was the o'api and procured specimens to be returned to London.
The scientific name of the okapi, okapia johnstoni, is named after Johnston, although the okapi's presence was long known to the aboriginal people.
7. Okapi are Endangered
Because okapi are so secretive, it is challenging for researchers to determine the exact number of individuals that still live in the wild. According to a 2013 research, there may still be 35,000 in the wild, although the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers this to be only a "guesstimate" at best.
What is known to biologists is that the okapi population has been and continues to decline, with a rate of decline of more than fifty percent in just the previous few decades. Since their most recent evaluation in 2015, their trajectory has led the IUCN Red List to categorize them as endangered.
Threats combined over time to put pressure on the okapi population. Their habitat is fragmented by deforestation and human settlement, and conservation efforts are hampered by poaching and erratic politics in the area. The most well-known event happened in 2012 when the Okapi Wildlife Reserve headquarters was stormed by a militia group. According to a UNESCO news story on the tragedy, the attack claimed the lives of seven persons, including wildlife rangers, and six of the okapi housed at the center.
In times of instability, it is challenging for researchers to track and even learn more about okapi, and it is also challenging to enforce laws protecting species. Nonetheless, the Okapi is being protected by several groups and local communities; the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in the Ituri Rainforest was established in 1992. The goal of these initiatives is to guarantee that, for many more generations to come, the okapi, a living fossil, will live up to its name and roam the forest it calls home.