# Okapi — Facts, Threats & Conservation

*Okapia johnstoni (Sclater, 1901) — family Giraffidae*

> The okapi (Okapia johnstoni) is the giraffe's only living relative, a solitary rainforest herbivore found exclusively in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with striped hindquarters for camouflage and a long dark prehensile tongue.

**IUCN status:** Endangered — restricted entirely to the rainforests of the DRC  ·  **WARN range:** Democratic Republic of the Congo — Ituri and adjacent rainforest only

## Quick facts
| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Shoulder height | ~1.5 m |
| Weight | 200–350 kg |
| Closest relative | Giraffe — the only other giraffid |
| Range | DR Congo only |
| Communication | Infrasound between mothers and calves |
| Main predator | Leopard |

## Scientific classification
- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Mammalia
- **Order:** Artiodactyla
- **Family:** Giraffidae
- **Genus:** Okapia
- **Species:** Okapia johnstoni

## Conservation status
- **Status:** Endangered
- **Population:** Unknown; substantial decline documented since the 1990s
- **Trend:** Decreasing
- **Assessed:** 2015
- **CITES:** Appendix I
- Armed conflict across the range is both a direct threat and the principal obstacle to survey work, so population estimates carry wide uncertainty.

## Key facts: Okapi
- The okapi is the only living relative of the giraffe, in the family Giraffidae.
- It occurs in the wild only in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- Striped hindquarters break up its outline in dappled forest light.
- Its tongue is long enough to clean its own eyes and ears.
- Mothers and calves communicate using infrasound below the range of human hearing.
- It is Endangered, threatened by logging, mining, hunting and armed conflict.

## A giraffe that stayed in the forest
Okapi and giraffe share defining giraffid traits: ossicones on the skull of males, a long dark prehensile tongue, and the same distinctive lobed canine teeth. The okapi kept the ancestral forest habits while the giraffe lineage moved onto open savanna and stretched.

At around 1.5 m at the shoulder, the okapi is built for pushing through dense undergrowth rather than reaching into acacias. Its tongue does the same job as a giraffe's — stripping leaves and buds — and is long enough that the animal can clean its own eyes and ears with it.

## Camouflage and secrecy
The horizontal white stripes on the hindquarters and upper legs break up the body's outline in the shifting, dappled light of the forest floor. They may also help a calf follow its mother visually through dense vegetation.

Okapi are solitary, largely silent to human ears, and use scent-marking to communicate. Mothers and calves exchange infrasonic calls below the range of human hearing — likely an adaptation to communicate without alerting leopards, their main natural predator. All of this is why a large mammal remained unknown to Western science until 1901.

## Why it is Endangered
The okapi's entire range lies within one country, much of which has experienced prolonged armed conflict. That single fact drives most of the threat picture.

Logging and agricultural clearance remove forest. Artisanal mining, particularly for coltan and gold, brings people, roads and bushmeat hunting deep into previously inaccessible forest. Armed groups occupy okapi habitat and hunt directly. In 2012 the Okapi Wildlife Reserve headquarters was attacked and captive okapi were killed — an unusually direct illustration of how conservation and conflict intersect here.

## What conservation looks like in a conflict zone
Protecting okapi is mostly about protecting people who protect okapi. Ranger patrols in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve operate under genuine danger, and the practical work is ranger support, community engagement around reserve boundaries, and reducing the bushmeat trade that supplies mining camps.

Captive breeding maintains an insurance population in zoos worldwide, but there is no realistic reintroduction pathway while the habitat is insecure. As with many species in conflict zones, the limiting factor is not biology.

## What WARN does
WARN publishes free, sourced species education including the species whose fate is decided by conflict rather than by ecology. The okapi is a reminder that in some places the binding constraint on conservation is security, and that rangers are the people carrying that risk.

If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.

## Frequently asked questions: Okapi
### Is the okapi related to the zebra?
No. Despite the striped hindquarters, the okapi is the giraffe's only living relative, in the family Giraffidae. The stripes are camouflage for dappled forest light, not a sign of any relationship to zebras.

### Where do okapi live?
Only in the rainforests of the north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, principally the Ituri forest. They occur naturally nowhere else on Earth.

### Why was the okapi discovered so late?
It was formally described by Western science only in 1901 because it is solitary, silent to human ears, superbly camouflaged and lives in dense, difficult rainforest. Local communities had long known the animal.

### Are okapi endangered?
Yes, the IUCN lists the okapi as Endangered. Logging, agricultural clearance, artisanal mining, bushmeat hunting and prolonged armed conflict across its single-country range all contribute.

### How long is an okapi's tongue?
Around 30 cm — long enough for the animal to clean its own eyes and ears, and to strip leaves and buds from branches in the same way a giraffe does.

### Are okapi / forest giraffes dangerous?
Okapi / Forest Giraffes are not generally dangerous to people. The okapi (Okapia johnstoni) is the giraffe's only living relative, a solitary rainforest herbivore found exclusively in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with striped hindquarters for camouflage and a long dark prehensile tongue. Give wild individuals space and do not corner or handle them.

### How long do okapi / forest giraffes live?
A precise wild lifespan for okapi / forest giraffes is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. The okapi (Okapia johnstoni) is the giraffe's only living relative, a solitary rainforest herbivore found exclusively in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with striped hindquarters for camouflage and a long dark prehensile tongue. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.

### How big is an okapi / forest giraffe?
An Okapi / Forest Giraffe is about ~1.5 m. The okapi (Okapia johnstoni) is the giraffe's only living relative, a solitary rainforest herbivore found exclusively in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with striped hindquarters for camouflage and a long dark prehensile tongue.

### What do okapi / forest giraffes eat?
Okapi / Forest Giraffes eat plant material — leaves, buds, shoots and soft vegetation. The okapi (Okapia johnstoni) is the giraffe's only living relative, a solitary rainforest herbivore found exclusively in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with striped hindquarters for camouflage and a long dark prehensile tongue.

## Sources
- [IUCN Red List — Okapia johnstoni](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15188/51140517)
- [CITES Appendices](https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php)

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Full guide: https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/okapi