Okapia johnstoni

The okapi (Okapia johnstoni) is a species of artiodactyl mammal in the family Giraffidae. It is the living relative with the most genetic similarities with the giraffe. It is sometimes considered a living fossil because of its resemblance to the first giraffids that appeared in the Miocene. There are no known subspecies and it is the only species in its genus. It lives in the lush jungles of the north of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between the Uele and Ituri rivers and in the Aruwimi jungles. Okapis can be elusive and evasive animals, so the research work carried out on the species is usually limited to collecting samples of droppings or other signs that show their presence due to the impossibility of being able to do a physical follow-up.

Morphology

The shape of its body is reminiscent of the body of a small giraffe with very short legs and neck, although the coat of hair is completely different, reddish all over the body except for the legs and buttocks, where it is white with black stripes, similar to to a zebra Like giraffes, it has two small hairy ossicones on its head that are of no apparent use and a long black prehensile tongue 30 to 36 centimeters long that it uses to insert the leaves of shrubs and low trees into its mouth. The length of this is such that the inside of the ears can be cleaned with its tip. The okapi is closely related to giraffes and shares many morphological adaptations with them, although its body is actually more reminiscent of a horse.

It measures from 1.97 to 2.15 m in length; its tail, from 30 to 42 cm; It measures between 1.50 and 1.80 m in height at the withers and weighs between 200 and 300 kg.

Natural history

Okapi are predominantly solitary animals that occasionally live in pairs or small family groups. Females give birth to a single calf in August or October after a gestation period of 435–445 days. If female, it will mature at two years of age, while if it is a male it will still have some time to reach adulthood. Apparently, the youngest cubs are not able to differentiate their mother from other females and can easily be adopted by other okapi if they lose their mother (who sometimes defends her to the death, even if faced with its only predator, the leopard). Life expectancy is around 30 years.

Their most developed sense is smell, followed by hearing. The young have a wide vocal repertoire with which to communicate with their mothers, but the adults tend to be mute. One of the few times they make sounds is when the males are looking for a mate during the mating season.

Okapi are herbivores. They feed mainly on the leaves, shoots and stems of more than 100 species of different plants, they also eat grasses, fruits, ferns and fungi. Several of the species they consume are poisonous to other species.

The impenetrable nature of their distribution area makes it impossible to know how many individuals actually make up the world population of okapis. Despite this, it is considered a vulnerable species (although not seriously endangered) due to its small range.

Discovery

A couple of okapis.

The okapi was unknown to the West until 1890. Henry Morton Stanley, who was exploring the banks of the Congo River at the behest of the King of Belgium, wrote in his diary how astonishing he was to see how the natives of the northern part of the future Belgian Congo showed no amazement at the horses he brought on his expedition. Questioned by the European explorer, the natives of the Wambutti tribe said that an animal similar to them but smaller, the o'api, lived in the jungles of the area. The stories about this mysterious animal motivated the Englishman Sir Harry Johnston to prepare an expedition in search of a possible species unknown to science, which went up the Congo River in 1899. Johnston was able to learn from the Wambutti that the o'api was a reddish-brown donkey-like animal with black and white stripes on its legs and hindquarters. He initially thought it was a possible unknown species of zebra, as none were known to exist in that part of Africa (or, indeed, any zebra living within the tropical forest).

Later back in the Belgian Congo in 1900, Johnston, accompanied by a group of pygmies who had returned from the World's Fair in Paris where they were exhibited as fairground freaks, was able to procure two hindquarter skins which he took to the Belgian fort at Mbeni and then they were sent to the Zoological Society of London in 1900. There it was found that they did not correspond to those of any known species of zebra and the animal was named Equus johnstoni , although its affiliation to the genus Equus was considered doubtful from the beginning. This was confirmed when Johnston, who had returned to the Wanbutti village, found a track in the jungle with their help and verified that the tracks had two fingers, so the okapi must be an okapi. artiodactyl and not an equid. Karl Eriksson, commander of Fort Mbeni, later sent him two skulls and two other skins that had recently come into his possession. With this material Johnston returned to London, where the rare skulls made it possible to determine that the one already known as okapi was a species of forest giraffe, which was baptized Okapia johnstoni. This rare species was soon requested by numerous museums and zoos in Europe and the United States, but most of the expeditions to capture some specimen were unsuccessful due to its remote distribution, so the species was saved from extinction. In 2006, and after almost 50 years in which none had been detected in the wild, they were rediscovered in the Virunga National Park area.

State of your population

Okapi are threatened with extinction by habitat destruction and hunting. The world population is estimated at 10,000-20,000 specimens. Conservation work in the Congo includes ongoing study of their lifestyle and behavior.

On the other hand, whenever there were armed conflicts in the Congo, it was difficult to monitor them, since it is an area where clashes between national factions abound.

In June 2006 and after almost 50 years (according to official records, the last time the presence of an okapi was noticed was in August 1959), the okapi was rediscovered, finding new signs of its presence, in the Virunga National Park, east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The discovery occurred during a study led by the WWF Foundation and the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature, known by its acronym: ICCN).

During the 20 years prior to the rediscovery in 2006, the lowlands of the Virunga National Park served as a hideout for different rebel groups, preventing these areas from being patrolled by the ICCN. The difficult orography has also prevented the clearing of the land and its agricultural exploitation, which explains why this species had remained unnoticed for so many years.

In September 2008, ICCN and the Zoological Society of London managed to take photos of an okapi in its natural habitat in Virunga National Park, confirming the species' presence despite more than a decade of civil conflict.

Playback

Okapi live in a solitary environment. Only during the mating season are the male and female together, or while the female is raising her offspring. Apparently, they use urine to mark their territory and a secretion from glands located between the hooves. Inside the forests, they use specific places to defecate, drink and rest. To move between these points, they always follow the same paths, which makes it easy to capture them. During the mating season, the females emit loud bellows in order to attract the attention of the males. They come and fight among themselves to conquer them. Their main weapon in this fight is their neck, which they use to hit. The winner retires with the female and the two remain together for two to three weeks. Gestation is very long, as it lasts from 14 to 15 months (up to 445 days), after which a single calf is born.