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Okapi Facts & Worksheets

The Okapi is also referred to as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe, or zebra giraffe, is a central African mammal indigenous to the northeast DRC.

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The okapi, referred to as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe, or zebra giraffe, is a central African artiodactyl mammal indigenous to the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo. Although the okapi has zebra-like striped patterns, it is most tightly linked to the giraffe. The only extant members of the Giraffidae family are the okapi and the giraffe.

See the fact file below for more information on Okapi or alternatively, you can download our 26-page Okapi worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Overview

  • The okapi is around 1.5 m (4.9 ft) elevated at the shoulder and has an average body length of approximately 2.5 m. (8.2 ft). It weighs between 200 and 350 kg. 
  • It has a chocolate to reddish brown coat that contrasts dramatically with the white horizontal streaks and circles on the legs and white ankles. Okapi males have horn-like bumps on their skulls called ossicones that are less than 15 cm (5.9 in) long. Hair whorls are present in females, but ossicones are not.
  • Okapis are primarily diurnal. However, they may be active for a few hours at night. They are mainly solitary, only congregating to reproduce. Okapis are herbivores that eat tree leaves, buds, grasses, ferns, fruits, and fungi. 
  • Male rut and female estrus are not affected by the season. Estrus cycles repeat every 15 days in captivity. The gestation period lasts around 440 to 450 days, after which a single calf is usually delivered.
  • Okapis live in canopy forests at elevations ranging from 500 to 1,500 meters (1,600-4,900 ft). The IUCN lists the okapi as endangered.
  • Significant risks include habitat loss caused by logging and human development. Illegal mining and intensive hunting for bushmeat and skin have also contributed to population declines. The Okapis Conservation Project was founded in 1987 to protect okapi populations.

Etymology and Taxonomy

  • Although the okapi was unbeknownst to the Western world until the twentieth century, it may have been represented on the facade of the Apanada at Persepolis from the early fifth century BCE as a gift from the Ethiopian procession to the Achaemenid dynasty. 
  • For years, Europeans in Africa have heard about an animal known as the African unicorn. The animal gained prominence in Europe due to conjecture about its existence reported in journalistic accounts documenting Henry Morton Stanley’s trips in 1887. 
  • In his travelogue of touring the Congo, Stanley noted a type of donkey named the atti by the indigenous, which experts eventually identified as the okapi.
  • Sir Harry Johnston, the British special commissioner in Uganda, discovered five Congolese Pygmy people being taken for display by a showman and rescued them. He vowed to restore them to their homes. Pygmies piqued Johnston’s interest in the animals depicted in Stanley’s book.
  • The okapi traces shown to Johnston perplexed him; he had anticipated being on the trail of a forest-dwelling horse, but the tracks were of a cloven-hoofed beast. 
  • Although Johnston never saw an okapi, he did get portions of striped skin and, finally, a skull. The okapi was accurately identified as a giraffe related based on this skull, and the species was formally designated as Okapia johnstoni in 1901.
  • In 1902, Swiss biologist Charles Immanuel Forsyth Major proposed that O.johnstoni be classified as a member of the extinct giraffid subfamily Palaeotraginae. However, Swedish palaeontologist Birger Bohlin ranked the species in its own subfamily Okapiinae in 1926, owing to the lack of a cingulum, a key trait of palaeotragids. Based on a cladistic study, Okapia was eventually identified as the sister genus of Giraffa in 1986. Giraffini is made up of the two genera as well as Palaeotragus.

Evolution

  • Giraffidae initially arose in Africa during the early Miocene, having separated from the deer-like climacoceratids. Giraffids migrated across Europe and Asia to the Pliocene by the middle Miocene but were wiped off by a drop in variety in the Pleistocene. Several major early giraffids, including Canthumeryx, Giraffokeryx, Palaeotragus, and Samotherium, coexisted in the Miocene (23-10 million years ago).
  • Samotherium split into Okapia and Giraffa 18 million years ago, according to paleontologist and writer Kathleen Hunt (12 million years ago). J. D. Skinner, on the other hand, contended that Cathumeryx gave birth to the okapi and giraffe via the latter three species and that the okapi is the present form of Palaeotragus. 
  • Okapi is frequently characterized as a living fossil since it has been around for a long time and morphologically resembles more primordial forms (e.g., Samotherium). A genomic analysis published in 2016 discovered that the giraffe and okapi shared a common ancestor around 11.5 million years ago.

Characteristics

  • Okapi is a standard-size giraffid with a shoulder height of 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in). It has an average body length of 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) and a weight range of 200 to 350 kg (440 to 770 lb). It has a long neck as well as broad, flexible ears. 
  • The okapi’s coat is a chocolate-reddish brown, contrasting sharply with the white horizontal lines on the legs and ankles. The stripes are similar to those of a zebra, and these characteristics provide excellent concealment in thick foliage. The skin of the face, throat, and chest is greyish-white.
  • Male okapis have small, hair-covered horn-like structures called ossicones that are less than 15 cm (5.9 in) long and are similar in appearance and function to giraffe ossicones. Okapi has sexual dimorphism, with females being 4.2 cm (1.7 in) taller, somewhat redder, and missing conspicuous ossicones in favor of hair whorls.
  • The okapi may be identified from its closest living relative, the giraffe, and it is substantially smaller than the giraffe and resembles bovids and cervids more externally. Ossicones are exclusively found in male okapis, although both sexes of giraffes have them.
  • Okapi is the only giraffid with significant palatine sinuses (hollow chambers in the palate). The giraffe and the okapi share morphological features such as the use of a pacing gait, stepping simultaneously with the front and posterior legs on the same side of the body, unlike other large mammals that walk by shifting alternate legs on either side of the body – and a long, black tongue (more extended in the okapi) useful for pulling buds and leaves as well as grooming.

Ecology and Behavior

  • Okapis are primarily diurnal. However, they may be active for a few hours at night. They are mainly solitary, only congregating to reproduce. They have overlapping home ranges and are often found in 0.6 animals per square kilometer concentration. 
  • Male house ranges are typically 13 km2 (5.0 sq mi), but female home ranges are typically 3-5 km2 (1.2-1.9 sq mi). Males constantly travel, while females remain static. Males frequently use urine to mark territory and bushes, while females utilize normal feces. Grooming of the earlobes and neck is a frequent procedure. Okapis often brush their necks on trees, causing a brown exudate to form.
  • The male defends his area while allowing females to pass through to forage. During the breeding season, males visit female home ranges. Although the okapi is usually calm, he can kick butt with his head to demonstrate hostility.
  • Due to the underdevelopment of the vocal records, vocal communication is mainly limited to three sounds: “chuff” (contact cries used by both sexes), “moan” (by females during courting), and “bleat” (by infants under stress). 
  • Individuals may exhibit the Flehmen reaction, a visual expression in which the animal bends back to its top lips, reveals its teeth and inhales for a few seconds through the mouth. The leopard is the okapi’s primary natural predator.

Diet

  • Okapis are herbivores that eat tree leaves, buds, grasses, ferns, fruits, and fungi. They are the only known animal in the Ituri Forest that feeds entirely on understory flora, using their 18-inch-long (46 cm) tongues to forage for appropriate plants carefully. They also use their tongue to clean their ears and eyes.
  • They would rather eat in treefall gaps. The okapi has been observed feeding on over 100 plant species, some of which are harmful to humans and other animals. According to fecal studies, none of the 100 species dominates the okapi’s diet, and shrubs and lianas are stapled foods.
  • The diet is dominated by woody, dicotyledonous plants; monocotyledonous plants are rarely consumed. The okapi eats mainly on the plant groups Acanthaceae, Ebenacae, Euphorbiaceae, Loganiaceae, Rubiaceae, and Violaceae in the Ituri forest.

Reproduction

  • Female okapis attain sexual maturity at around one and a half years, while males reach sexual maturity after two years. The season has little effect on male rut or female estrous.
  • Estrous cycles occur every 15 days in captivity. Courtship begins with the male and female circling, sniffing, and licking each other. The male expresses his curiosity by stretching his neck, tossing his head, and extending one leg forward. Following this comes mounting and copulation.
  • The gestation cycle lasts around 440 to 450 days, after which a single calf weighing 14-30 kg is usually delivered (31-66 lb). The pregnant female’s udder begins to grow two months before parturition, and vulval secretions may occur. 
  • Birth takes 3-4 hours; the female stands the entire time, save for brief relaxation times. The mother swallows the afterbirth and grooms the newborn intensively. Her milk is high in protein yet low in fat.

Distribution and Habitat

  • Only in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, north and east of the Congo River, are the okapi found. It stretches from the Maiko National Park in the north to the Ituri rainforest in the south, then via the Rubi, Lake Tele, Ebola river basins in the west, and the Ubangi River in the north.
  • The okapi lives in canopy forests at elevations ranging from 500 to 1,500 meters (1.600-4,900 ft). It occasionally uses seasonally waterlogged places, although it does not exist in gallery forests, swamp forests, or ecosystems dispersed by human settlements. It explores rocky inselbergs that provide fodder not found elsewhere during the rainy season.
  • There is evidence that Europeans saw okapis in Uganda’s Semuliki Valley but they became extinct in the late 1970s. The Semuliki Valley is comparable to the Congo Basin in terms of habitat.

Threats and Conservation

  • The okapi is endangered by the IUCN and entirely protected by Congolese law. The Okapi Wildlife Reserve and Maiko National Park are home to considerable okapi populations. However, numbers have been steadily declining owing to a variety of stressors.
  • Significant challenges include habitat degradation caused by logging and human development. Population losses have also been driven by extensive hunting for bushmeat and skin and illegal mining. The existence of armed criminal groups surrounding protected areas has lately surfaced as a danger, impeding conservation and monitoring efforts.
  • In June 2012, a group of poachers raided the Okapi Wildlife Reserve headquarters, murdering six guards, several workers, and all 14 okapis at their breeding center.
  • The Okapi Conservation Project, founded in 1987, strives to protect the okapi while promoting the growth of the indigenous Mbuti people. 
  • The White Oak Conservation Center and Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens sponsored an international conference of the Okapi European Endangered Species Programme in November 2011, with representatives from zoos in the US, Europe, and Japan in attendance. The goal was to discuss captive okapi management and to organize support for okapi conservation. Okapis are presently kept in several zoos in North America and Europe.

Okapi Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Okapi across 26 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Okapi worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Okapi, which is referred to as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe, or zebra giraffe, is a central African artiodactyl mammal indigenous to the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

  • Okapi Facts
  • Okapi Cards
  • Physical Attraction
  • Word Connect
  • Okapi World
  • Taxonomy of Okapi
  • Okapi Islander
  • Fact or Bluff
  • Get Word
  • Miniclip
  • Stripes and Spots

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Okapi?

The okapi, referred to as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe, or zebra giraffe, is a central African artiodactyl mammal indigenous to the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo. Although the okapi has zebra-like striped patterns, it is most tightly linked to the giraffe. The only extant members of the Giraffidae family are the okapi and the giraffe.

Where does Okapi reside?

Only in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, north, and east of the Congo River, are the okapi found. It stretches from the Maiko National Park in the north to the Ituri rainforest in the south, then via the Rubi, Lake Tele, Ebola river basins in the west, and the Ubangi River in the north.

What are the similar features that Okapi and Giraffes have?

The giraffe and the okapi share morphological features such as the use of a pacing gait, stepping simultaneously with the front and posterior legs on the same side of the body, unlike other large mammals that walk by shifting alternate legs on either side of the body – and a long, black tongue (more extended in the okapi) useful for pulling buds and leaves as well as grooming.

How does Okapi reproduce?

Estrous cycles occur every 15 days in captivity. Courtship begins with the male and female circling, sniffing, and licking each other. The male expresses his curiosity by stretching his neck, tossing his head, and extending one leg forward. Following this comes mounting and copulation.

Is Okapi endangered?

The okapi is endangered by the IUCN and entirely protected by Congolese law. The Okapi Wildlife Reserve and Maiko National Park are home to considerable okapi populations. However, numbers have been steadily declining owing to a variety of stressors.

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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