Gioca STEMAnimals

Animals · Rainforest and jungle

Okapi

Okapia johnstoni

Zebra stripes and a giraffe cousin

An adult in the Congolese understory with a reddish brown coat and white stripes on its hind legs.
An adult in the Congolese understory with a reddish brown coat and white stripes on its hind legs.
  • Status: Endangered
  • Forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, between 1,600 and 5,000 feet

Numbers

Weight
606 lbfrom 440 to 770 lb; of the two Wikidata values, 550 lb fits the adult range while 48 lb corresponds to a newborn
Length
98 inaverage body length
Height
59 inshoulder height; females are on average 1.7 inches taller than males
Lifespan
25 yearsfrom 20 to 30 years
Tongue length
18 inlonger than that of a giraffe
Gestation period
450 daysfrom 440 to 450 days, almost fifteen months
Diet species count
100 speciesmore than one hundred, some toxic to humans

Ten fun facts

  1. it is the only living relative of the giraffe, and together the two species make up the entire giraffid family.

  2. its black tongue is eighteen inches long, longer than a giraffe tongue, and is even used to clean its eyes.

  3. only males have ossicones, which are short fur covered horns measuring less than six inches in length.

  4. females are on average nearly two inches taller than males and have a slightly more reddish coat.

  5. it walks with a pacing gait, moving both legs on the same side together, a trait shared only with giraffes.

  6. in the Ituri rainforest it is the only known mammal that feeds exclusively on understory vegetation.

  7. its retina has many rod cells and its auditory bullae are large, allowing it to see and hear well in the dark.

  8. giving birth takes three or four hours, and the female remains standing up throughout the entire process.

  9. a genetic study from 2016 places the common ancestor of okapis and giraffes about eleven point five million years ago.

  10. in June 2012 poachers attacked the okapi reserve, killing six guards and all fourteen animals housed there.

The quiz answers

The first one is the question printed in your book: here is the answer. The other four are extra.

Question 1 of 5★ this one is in your book

What is the closest living relative of the okapi?

Question 2 of 5

How long does pregnancy last?

Question 3 of 5

In which country does it live in the wild?

Question 4 of 5

What are the white stripes on its legs for?

Question 5 of 5

Which ones have ossicones?

Try it yourself

Experiment 1

Measure eighteen inches on a flexible tape measure and hold it up next to your face to see the length of this animal's tongue.

Experiment 2

Mark four hundred and fifty days from today on a calendar to count out its long pregnancy, which means waiting almost fifteen months.

Experiment 3

Draw a brown outline with white leg stripes and squint at it from across the room to see how this camouflage works in shade.

Data from Wikidata (Q82037) and Wikipedia (Okapi).