African unicorns and illegal poachers

What has a long tongue, black and white stripes, and is as big as a horse?

You wouldn’t be alone in thinking zebras are the only animal which fits the description. This week's Wacky Wednesday features the Okapi, a bizarre-looking blend of zebra, horse, and giraffe.

Quick Facts:

• Scientific name: Okapia johnstoni
  

• Geographic location: Forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo, close to the Congo River
  

• Distinguishing feature: brown coat with legs striped black and white
  

• Conservation status: Endangered

Illustration by Sir Harry Johnston in 1901

Only recently discovered by the Western world in the early 1900’s, the Okapi is like a mythical creature for those who’ve never seen them before. With an unusually patterned coat, they are often called an ‘African unicorn’.

Standing 1.5 metres tall, 2.5 metres long, and 350kg heavy, the Okapi are approximately the size of a horse. Surprisingly, they are most closely related to the giraffe with their closest common ancestor living 11.5 million years ago. Male okapi have small ‘horns’ on their head similar to giraffes and a long, black tongue, measuring up to 45cm long, for grabbing vegetation and grooming. Okapi are herbivorous and eat a range of grass, fruits, fungi and other woody plants. See the rare footage below of wild okapi using their tongues to eat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_lqxEXXsXE

As solitary animals, okapi males typically migrate, moving to various regions around the Congo River to mate with sedentary females during the breeding season. Whilst being relatively calm animals, they can kick their legs and butt heads to express aggression. Like many animals, males mark their territory with urine.

Leopards are a major predator, but humans are the biggest threat to the wild okapi population. Human settlement and habitat destruction via logging and mining are major sources of population stress for okapi. This has led to major declines in the wild population.

Illegal poachers are now threatening the remaining mature adults, and organisations such as the Okapi Conservation Project are working hard to conserve wild okapi and the habitat they live in. By recruiting local villagers and training them in conservation and wildlife management they can act as guardians for the remaining animals.

To learn more about the Okapi Conservation Project and show your support, click here.

As always, if you have a #WackyWednesday animal you’d like featured on the blog, comment below!