Okapi Animal

Okapi

The Okapi animal lives in a moist and densely grown jungle biotope and prefers to stay close to water. It is a nocturnal animal that habitually follows the same, well-trodden trails thorough the African jungle. The Okapi animal is endemic to the Ituri Forest, a 63,000 square kilometre large region in Congo in the central part of the African continent. Roughly 20 percent of the Ituri Forest is today a part of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve.

The natural habitat for the Okapi animal is located on a plateau between the Albertine Rift Mountains and the watershed of the Congo Basin. The average precipitation in this area is 1700 millimetres a year, and the forest is always moist. The highest part of this region is located 900 meters above sea level to the northeast, while the lowest parts is found to the southwest about 600 meters above sea level. The soil is at least 2 meters deep in most parts of the Ituri Forest.

The vegetation found in the native home of the Okapi animal is very prolific and the region is known for its abundance of different species. The Okapi animal loves to feast on various grasses, leaves and shoots from different plants, and a vast array of fruits. The Okapi animal is a ruminant animal, which means that it will swallow the food without chewing. The plant matter will be moderately digested and then regurgitated, and the Okapi animal will chew the food and swallow it again. Since this herbivore diet can be low in certain minerals, the Okapi animal will frequent river banks where it gulps down sulphurous clay.

As mentioned above, the home of the Okapi animal is famous for its rich wild life. The tree density is unusually high and a sampling made by researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute showed that you can find at least 500 plant species in the Ituri Forest. The fauna is also incredibly rich. In addition to the strange Okapi animal, you will find a wide range of other exotic creatures, including various duikers and primates, and the endangered forest elephant. Duikers are small antelopes that lives in forests and bushlands, and 13 of the 17 known species can be found in East Africa. In the same forest as you can encounter the Okapi animal, you can find over 50 different mammal species and more than 300 bird species.

In the densely grown Ituri Forest, the Okapi animal will use its acute sense of smell to locate a suitable partner. The Okapi animal will usually try to stay as quite as possible to avoid attracting leopards, but it can produce a soft cough-like sound. The Okapi animal is a solitary creature and the two sexes will only meet to mate. Mothers will however care for their offspring and defend them violently if necessary. If the Okapi animal feels threatened, she will try to scare off the intruder by beating on the ground with her strong forelegs. Estimations show that the population density of the Okapi animal is somewhere between 0.8 and 2.3 animals per square kilometre of jungle, and each specimen will typically stay within a 2.5 to 5 square kilometre large region. As mentioned above, the adult Okapi animal will usually stay quite, but a young Okapi animal can use a wide range of sounds to communicate with its mother – including whistles, bleats and coughs. If you separate the young Okapi from its mother, it will produce a lot of sounds to let her know where it is.

adult Okapi

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Okapi animal