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Okapi

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Mammals

                      iOkapi
   An okapi at Disney's Animal Kingdom
   An okapi at Disney's Animal Kingdom

                             Conservation status

   Near Threatened (LR/nt)
            Scientific classification

   Kingdom: Animalia
   Phylum:  Chordata
   Class:   Mammalia
   Order:   Artiodactyla
   Family:  Giraffidae
   Genus:   Okapia
            Lankester, 1901
   Species: O. johnstoni

                                Binomial name

   Okapia johnstoni
   ( P.L. Sclater, 1901)
   Okapi distribution
   Enlarge
   Okapi distribution

   The okapi (Okapia johnstoni) is a mammal of the Ituri Rainforest in
   central Africa. Although it bears striped markings reminiscent of the
   zebra, it is most closely related to the giraffe. The resemblance it
   bears to both the zebra and giraffe led some to believe it is a cross
   between the two, but despite the appearance of certain similarities, it
   is in fact not closely related to the zebra. Native just to the Ituri
   forests situated in the north east of the Democratic Republic of the
   Congo, it was known only to the local people until 1901.

Characteristics

   Okapis have dark bodies, with striking horizontal white stripes on the
   back legs, making them resemble zebras from a distance. These markings
   are thought to be "follow me" markings intended to help young follow
   their mothers through the dense rain forest, and also serve as
   camouflage. The body shape is similar to that of the giraffe, except
   that okapis have much shorter necks. Both species have very long (apx.
   30 cm or 12 inch), flexible, blue tongues that they use to strip leaves
   and buds from trees. The tongue of an okapi is long enough for the
   animal to wash its eyelids and clean its ears: it is one of the few
   mammals that can lick its own ears. Male okapis have short,
   skin-covered horns called " ossicones". They have large ears which help
   them detect their predator, the leopard.

   Okapis are 1.9 to 2.5 m (8.1 ft) long and stand 1.5 to 2.0 m (6.5 ft)
   high at the shoulder. They have a 30 to 42 cm (12 to 17 in) long tail.
   Their weight ranges from 200 to 250 kg (465 to 550 lb).

   In addition to tree leaves and buds, okapis eat grass, ferns, fruit,
   and fungi. Many of the plant species fed upon by the okapi are known to
   be poisonous to humans. Examination of okapi feces has revealed that
   the charcoal from trees burnt by lightning is consumed as well. Field
   observations indicate that the okapi's mineral and salt requirements
   are filled primarily by a sulfurous, slightly salty, reddish clay found
   near rivers and streams.

   Okapis are largely diurnal and essentially solitary, coming together
   only to breed. and forage along fixed, well-trodden paths through the
   forest. Okapis occur alone or in mother-offspring pairs. They have
   overlapping home ranges of several square kilometers and typically
   occur at densities of about 0.6 animals per square kilometer. The home
   ranges of males are generally slightly larger that those of females.
   Although they are not social animals, okapis tolerate each other in the
   wild and may even feed in small groups for short periods of time.

   Only one infant is born at a time, between August and October, weighing
   between 14 to 30 kg (30 and 65 lb). Their life span in captivity ranges
   from 15 to over 30 years, but data from wild populations is
   unavailable. Okapi courtship and mating rituals are known only from
   observations done in zoos. Partners begin courtship by circling,
   sniffing, and licking each other. Eventually, the male asserts his
   dominance by extending his neck, tossing his head, and thrusting one
   leg foreward. This display is followed by mounting and copulation.
   After mating, the male and female part. The gestatation period lasts
   about 440 days, and females retreat into dense forest vegetation to
   give birth. They are precocial and may nurse after 21 minutes and
   attempt to stand after just 16 minutes. Young spend the first day or
   two of life following the mother around and exploring the environment.
   After this, they find a suitable hiding spot and make a nest. For the
   next two months, they spend 80% of their time in this nest. Hiding
   behaviour appears to promote rapid growth and provides protection from
   predators. A disturbed calf lies motionless in its nest, and a female
   okapi will rush to aggressively defend her calf from danger. During the
   hiding stage, young nurse relatively infrequently and do not defecate.
   These strategies help keep them undetected by predators. Weaning occurs
   at about 6 months, although young may continue to suckle for more than
   a year. Young males begin developing horns at one year of age, and both
   males and females reach adult size at about three years. In captivity,
   the youngest female to breed was 1 year 7 months old, and the youngest
   male was 2 years 2 months old.

   Okapis have several methods of communicating their territory, including
   scent glands on each foot that leave behind a tar-like substance which
   signals their passage, as well as urine marking. Males are protective
   of their territory, but allow females to pass through their domain to
   forage.

   Okapis prefer altitudes between 500 and 1,000 m, although they may
   venture above 1,000 m in the eastern montane rainforests. The range of
   the okapi is limited by high montane forests to the east, swamp forests
   below 500 m to the west, savannas of the Sahel/Sudan to the north, and
   open woodlands to the south. Okapis are most common in the Wamba and
   Epulu areas.

   The okapi is the symbol of cryptozoology.

History

   The okapi was known to the ancient Egyptians; shortly after its
   "discovery" by Europeans, an ancient carved image of the animal was
   discovered in Egypt. For years, Europeans in Africa had heard of an
   animal that they came to call 'the African unicorn'. In his travelogue
   of exploring the Congo, Henry Morton Stanley mentioned a kind of donkey
   that the natives called the 'atti', which scholars later identified as
   the okapi. Explorers may have seen the fleeting view of the striped
   backside as the animal fled through the bushes, leading to speculation
   that the okapi was some sort of rainforest zebra. When the British
   governor of Uganda, Sir Harry Johnston, discovered some pygmy
   inhabitants of the Congo being abducted by a German showman for
   exhibition in Europe, he rescued them and promised to return them to
   their homes. The grateful pygmies fed Johnston's curiosity about the
   animal mentioned in Stanley's book. Johnston was puzzled by the okapi
   tracks the natives showed him; while he had expected to be on the trail
   of some sort of forest-dwelling horse, the tracks were of some
   cloven-hoofed beast. Though Johnston did not see an okapi himself, he
   did manage to obtain pieces of striped skin and eventually a skull.
   From this skull, the okapi was correctly classified as a relative of
   the giraffe; in 1902, the species was formally recognized as Okapia
   johnstoni. The first live specimen in Europe arrived in Antwerp in
   1918. The first okapi to arrive in North America was at the Bronx Zoo,
   via Antwerp, in 1937. The first okapi born in captivity was at
   Brookfield Zoo in Illinois, which directs the okapi Species Survival
   Plan for the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. Okapi are now
   reasonably common in zoos around North America and Europe. Immediately
   following their discovery, zoos around the world attempted to obtain
   okapis from the wild. These initial attempts were accompanied by a high
   mortality rate due to the rigors of traveling thousands of miles by
   boat and by train. In more recent years, shipment by airplane has
   proven more successful.

Status

   Although okapis are not classified as endangered, they are threatened
   by habitat destruction and poaching. Conservation work in the Congo
   includes the continuing study of okapi behaviour and life styles, which
   led to the creation in 1992 of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. The Congo
   Civil War threatened both the wildlife and the conservation workers in
   the Reserve.

   On June 8, 2006, scientists reported that evidence of surviving okapis
   in Congo's Virunga National Park had been discovered. This had been the
   first official sighting since 1959, after nearly half a century.

   On September 27, 2006, an okapi named Sauda (meaning "dark beauty" in
   Swahili), was born at the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois.

Etymology

   The genus name Okapia derives from the native name o'api, while the
   species' epithet (johnstoni) is in recognition of the explorer Sir
   Harry Johnston, who organized the expedition that first acquired an
   okapi specimen for science from the Ituri Forest in the Democratic
   Republic of the Congo. This is the only place where an okapi can be
   found in the wild.

Trivia

     * The obscurity of the okapi led the International Society for
       Cryptozoology to adopt it as an emblem.
     * In the original Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series,
       Arthur Dent's brother was said to have been nibbled to death by an
       okapi. The exact circumstances that brought this fate about were
       left unclear.
     * The Microsoft Computer Game " Zoo Tycoon" allows the creation of an
       okapi exhibit, and one of the scenarios deals with the birth of a
       baby okapi.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okapi"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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