Ever thought of catching a glimpse at that one unique creature on earth but you do not know which one exactly? Well, if this has always been your dream then it is a high time you achieved it. Okapis are a few rarest wild creatures that you need to consider a must to strike your eyes at while on safari in Africa. These unique mammal creatures are at times popular as forest giraffes a unique species which doesn’t really look like giraffe. It has long tongue though its body has a horse and the legs feature stripes like those of zebras. The males feature 2 small horns on the head which are also covered by the skin. They fall under Giraffidae family making them relatives of giraffes.
In terms size, they are approximately 1.5 meters tall while females are a bit heavier with about 495 to 770 Ibs. Males weigh between 200 and 300 kilograms. These unique creatures thrive within the dense tropical rain forest of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and mostly within the Ituri forest. They are solitary and territorial, featuring scent glands on their feet which spread sticky, tar like territory markings to alert others of their territory. The males equally mark territories with urine and on unusual occasions, they eat together but in small groups. It is during this time that they groom each other and play together. In the afternoon and evening, they become more active spending more time while in search for what to eat. They follow different paths.
They are mainly herbivores depending mainly on vegetation. They can get the top of the trees using their tongues and capable of pulling it down then feed on leaves. They mainly eat twigs, fruits, buds and other vegetation which do exist within the rainforests. Clay equally makes part of their diet as it is source of minerals and salt which they don’t get from vegetation. One okapi can feed between 20 and 27 kilograms of vegetation every day. While drinking water, they spread their legs on the ground to get firm.
Females give birth to only 1 baby at a time and this is after a gestation period of about 14 to 16 months. The young one of Okapi is known as calf and it can stretch about 80 centimeters tall when they are born weighing approximately 16 kilograms. They can walk after like half an hour after birth but don’t defecate till they are around 4 to 8 weeks. They reach their maturity at 2-3 years and have life span of about 20 to 30 years.
These mammal creatures are listed by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as endangered species and their population has continued decreasing in the wild due to a number of factors. Most of them are hunted for meat-one factor which leading to their continued decline in the wild today. However, they range between altitude 500 and 1500 meters and mainly endemic to the tropical rainforests of the DR Congo mostly in Okapi Wildlife Reserve, some parts of Maiko National Park and many other areas.
