Okapis get a lot of water from juicy leaves — but they also drink from rivers and puddles when they can, stretching down like giraffes!
Okapis - Facts for Kids
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Facts About Okapis For Kids
Baby okapis start tasting leaves while still drinking milk to learn which plants are safe to eat!
Conservation & Population
There are only about 10,000 to 15,000 okapis left in the wild — and their numbers keep going down!
Okapis are classified (labeled) as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) — that means there aren’t many left, and they need help to stay safe!
The biggest threats (dangers) to okapis are habitat loss (losing their homes) and hunting!
There are less than 200 okapis living in zoos around the world!
The Okapi Conservation Project was created in 1987 to help protect these amazing animals!
Okapis are losing parts of their forest home — about half a percent every year in their protected reserve — because of things like mining, logging, and farms!
Lots of countries have put okapis on postage stamps — like Zaire, Benin, Somalia, Guinea‑Bissau, and Belgium — to help people learn about these amazing rainforest animals!
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has created special protected areas (safe places) just for okapis!
Scientists use camera traps to study wild okapis because they’re so hard to find in the dense (thick) forest!
Special Adaptations
The dark color of an okapi’s tongue helps protect it from sunburn!
An okapi’s stripes are as unique (special) as human fingerprints — no two okapis have exactly the same pattern!
An okapi’s fur is oily like a slick raincoat — so even during big tropical storms, rain slides off and helps them stay warm and cozy!
Okapis have special glands (body parts that make liquids) near their feet that produce (make) a sticky substance to mark their territory (area they live in)!
An okapi’s long neck and strong tongue help it grab leaves up to about six feet high — where most other forest animals can’t reach!
The okapi’s special digestive system (stomach parts) allows them to eat plants that would be poisonous (harmful) to most other animals!
Social Life
Male okapis sometimes fight for territory (their living area) using their necks like giraffes do!
Okapis use scent marking (leaving smells) to let other okapis know where their territory boundaries (area edges) are!
Mother okapis communicate (talk) with their babies using very quiet calls that predators (animals that hunt them) can’t hear!
Okapis prefer to live alone but will sometimes gather at mineral-rich (full of healthy nutrients) soil deposits (dirt areas)!
Young male okapis often travel together before establishing (making) their own territories (living areas)!
Okapis use body language, like ear positions and neck movements, to communicate (talk) with each other!
Female okapis choose which male okapis they want to mate (have babies) with!
Okapis avoid conflict (fighting) by marking and respecting each other’s territories (living areas)!
Okapis can recognize (know) individual (specific) okapis by their unique (special) stripe patterns!
Fun & Unique Facts
The okapi’s closest living relative (family member), the giraffe, lives in completely different habitats (homes)!
Okapis walk by moving both legs on one side of their body at the same time!
An okapi’s tongue is dark blue-black in color!
Okapis can go several days without eating if they need to!
The okapi is sometimes called the “unicorn of Africa” because it was so hard to find!
Okapis have excellent night vision (ability to see in the dark) that helps them see in the dark forest!
The okapi is the national animal (country’s special animal) of the Democratic Republic of the Congo!
