Okapi animal (lat. Okapia johnstoni)

OKAPI
OKAPI (Okapia johnstoni) is an artiodactyl animal of the giraffe family. Endemic to Zaire. Inhabits tropical rain forests, where it feeds on shoots and leaves of euphorbias, as well as the fruits of various plants.

This is a fairly large animal: body length is about 2 m, shoulder height is 1.5-1.72 w, weight is about 250 kg. Unlike the giraffe, the okapi has a moderately long neck. Long ears, large expressive eyes and a tail ending in a tassel complement appearance This is still a mysterious animal in many ways. The coloring is very distinctive: the body is reddish-brown, the legs are white with dark transverse stripes on the thighs and shoulders. On the head of males there is a pair of small, skin-covered horns with horny “tips”, which are replaced annually. The tongue is long and thin, bluish in color.

The history of the discovery of okapi is one of the most notorious zoological sensations of the 20th century. The first information about the unknown animal was received in 1890 by the famous traveler G. Stanley, who managed to reach the virgin forests of the Congo Basin. In his report, Stanley said that the pygmies who saw his horses were not surprised (contrary to expectations!) and explained that similar animals were found in their forests. A few years later, the then governor of Uganda, Englishman Johnston, decided to check Stanley’s words: information about unknown “forest horses” seemed ridiculous. However, during the 1899 expedition, Johnston managed to find confirmation of Stanley’s words: first the pygmies, and then the white missionary Lloyd, described to Johnston the appearance of the “forest horse” and told him its local name - okapi. And then Johnston was even more lucky: at Fort Beni, the Belgians gave him two pieces of okapi skin! They were sent to London to the Royal Zoological Society. Their examination showed that the skin did not belong to any of the known species zebras, and in December 1900, zoologist Sclater published a description of a new species of animal, giving it the name “Johnston’s horse.” Only in June 1901, when a complete skin and two skulls were sent to London, did it become clear that they did not belong to a horse, but were close to the bones of long-extinct animals. We were talking, therefore, about a completely new genus. This is how it was legalized modern name Okapi is a name that has been used for thousands of years by the pygmies of the Ituri forests. However, the okapi remained almost inaccessible. Zoo requests were also unsuccessful for a long time. It was only in 1919 that the Antwerp Zoo received its first young okapi, which lived in Europe for only 50 days. Several more attempts ended in failure. However, in 1928, a female okapi named Tele arrived at the Antwerp Zoo. She lived until 1943 and died of hunger during the Second World War. And in 1954, the first okapi cub was born in the same Antwerp Zoo, which, unfortunately, soon died. The first one is completely successful breeding Okapi was achieved in 1956 in Paris. Currently, a special station for capturing live okapi operates in Epulu (Republic of the Congo, Kinshasa). According to some reports, okapi are kept in 18 zoos around the world and reproduce successfully.

We still know little about the life of okapi in the wild. Few Europeans have ever seen this animal in the wild. The distribution of okapi is limited to a relatively small area in the Congo River basin, occupied by dense and inaccessible tropical forests. However, even within this forest area, okapi are found only in somewhat brightened places near rivers and clearings, where green vegetation from the upper layer descends to the ground. Okapi cannot live under a continuous forest canopy - they simply have nothing to eat. Okapi's food consists mainly of leaves: with their long and flexible tongue, the animals grab a young shoot of a bush and then tear off the foliage from it with a sliding movement. Only occasionally do they graze on grassy lawns. As studies by zoologist De Medina have shown, okapi is quite picky when choosing food: of the 13 plant families that form the lower layer of the tropical forest, it regularly uses only 30 species. Charcoal and brackish clay containing saltpeter from the banks of forest streams were also found in okapi droppings. Apparently, this is how the animal compensates for the lack of mineral feed. Okapi feed during daylight hours. Okapi are solitary animals. Only during mating does the female join the male for several days. Sometimes such a couple is accompanied by last year's cub, towards which the adult male does not experience hostile feelings. Pregnancy lasts about 440 days, birth occurs in August - October, during the rainy season. To give birth, the female retires to the most remote places, and the newborn calf lies hidden in the thicket for several days. His mother finds him by his voice. The voice of adult okapi resembles a quiet cough. The cub also makes the same sounds, but it can also moo quietly like a calf or occasionally whistle quietly. The mother is very attached to the baby: there are cases when the female tried to drive even people away from the baby. Of the okapi's sense organs, hearing and smell are the most developed.

Okapi live in tropical forests Africa in the Congo Basin (Zaire). These are small, very timid animals, similar in color to a zebra, from the giraffe family. Okapi usually graze alone, silently making their way through the forest thickets. Okapi are so sensitive that even pygmies cannot sneak up on them. They lure these animals into pit traps.

The okapi's coat color is brown, and its legs are spotted with black and white stripes. The male okapi is smaller than the female. It has a pair of miniature horns covered in skin. With its forty-centimeter long tongue, the okapi can do amazing things, such as lick behind its black, red-edged ears. It has pockets on both sides of its mouth in which it can store food.

Okapi are very neat animals. They love to take care of their skin for a long time.

Traveling around Central Africa, journalist and African explorer Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904) repeatedly encountered local aborigines. Having once met an expedition equipped with horses, the natives of the Congo told to the famous traveler what they have in the jungle wild animals, very similar to his horses. The Englishman, who had seen a lot, was somewhat puzzled by this fact.

flickr/Roland & Sonja

After some negotiations in 1900, the British were finally able to purchase parts of the skin of the mysterious beast from the local population and send them to the Royal Zoological Society in London, where the unknown animal was given the name "Johnston's Horse" ( Equus johnstoni), that is, they assigned it to the equine family. But imagine their surprise when a year later they managed to get a whole skin and two skulls of an unknown animal, and discovered that It looked more like dwarf giraffe times ice age. Only in 1909 was it possible to catch a living specimen of Okapi ( Okapia johnstoni).

It was an okapi - a rare artiodactyl animal from the family. Okapi are indeed, at first glance, very similar to horses. But the legs and neck are somewhat elongated. On the hind legs and rump there are bizarre black and white stripes, like a zebra, which makes the animal unusually amazing.

Okapi have short, velvety, chocolate-colored fur with a reddish tint. Limbs white, and the tail reaches 40 cm. At the withers, okapi is about 160 cm, and the length from head to tail is 2 meters. As is usual in nature, females are slightly larger than males. White and brown okapi head with big ears full of charm. Narrow muzzle and large black moist eyes evoke tender feelings for the animal.

Many naturalists dream of seeing okapi. Since the Congo is the only place on Earth where okapi live, and their capture for zoos is impossible due to their great sensitivity to changes in environment, the dream of nature lovers remains unattainable. Only 20 nurseries in the world can boast of having such a rare animal.

The okapi has a very timid temperament. Although they lead a diurnal lifestyle, they still try to wander deeper into the jungle. Like giraffes, okapi feed on tree leaves. The diet also contains various herbs, mushrooms, ferns and fruits. The okapi's tongue is very long and dexterous. It is so long that okapi can easily wash his eyes with it.

Okapi is also called the “forest giraffe”. Apparently, due to the availability of food in the jungle, okapi did not evolutionarily need a long neck, like the steppe giraffe, which in the steppe has to reach high for foliage.

Unlike their giraffe relatives, okapi are solitary. Only during the mating season do they form pairs. Very rarely they can be found in small groups, but the reason for this has not yet been studied.

flickr/whiskeyboytx

Okapi cubs are gestated for 450 days (about 15 months). The baby hides in the jungle for a long time, responding only to his mother’s voice. And the okapi's voice is quiet. Due to lack vocal cords The sounds pronounced by okapi are more reminiscent of mooing with a slight whistle.

It is not yet possible to fully study the life and habits of okapi. Due to unsettled political power to Congo with permanent civil wars, and also because of the timidity and secretiveness of animals, little is known about their life in freedom. Deforestation undoubtedly affects population numbers. According to the most rough estimates, there are only 10-20 thousand okapi individuals. There are 45 of them in zoos around the world.

Description of okapi

Okapia johnstoni - Johnston's okapi, or simply okapi, is the only artiodactyl of the genus Okapia of the same name, which is part of the giraffe family. However, the most noticeable similarities are observed not so much with giraffes, but with their ancestors, as well as with zebras (in terms of color) and horses (in terms of physique).

Appearance

Okapi is bizarrely beautiful - the velvety reddish-chocolate fur on the head, sides and rump suddenly gives way on the legs to a white tone with uneven black stripes that copy. The tail is moderate (30–40 cm), ending in a tassel. Most of all, okapi resembles an exotically colored horse, which has acquired small horns (ossicones) with keratinized tips that are replaced annually.

This is a large artiodactyl, almost 2 m long, weighing up to 2.5 centners in adulthood with a height at the withers of 1.5–1.72 m. The top of the head and ears repeat the chocolate background of the body, but the muzzle (from the base of the ears to the neck) painted white, with large dark eyes contrasting with it. Okapi's ears are wide, tubular and extremely mobile, the neck is much shorter and equal to 2/3 of the length of the body.

This is interesting! Okapi has a long and thin, almost 40-centimeter bluish tongue, with which the animal washes itself, calmly licking its eyes and reaching its ears without strain.

The upper lip is separated in the center by a small vertical strip of bare skin. Okapi do not have a gallbladder, but have cheek pouches on either side of the mouth where food can be stored.

Lifestyle, behavior

Okapi, unlike gregarious giraffes, prefer to exist alone and quite rarely gather in groups (usually this happens when searching for food). The personal territories of males overlap one another and do not have clear boundaries (unlike the territories of females), but they are always larger in area and reach 2.5–5 km2. Animals graze mostly during the day, silently making their way through the thickets, but sometimes they allow themselves twilight forays. They rest at night without losing their inherent vigilance: it is not surprising that okapi’s senses are best developed by hearing and smell.

This is interesting! Johnston's okapi does not have vocal cords, so sounds are produced by exhaling air. Animals communicate with each other by quiet whistling, mooing or softly coughing.

Okapi are meticulously neat and love to lick their beautiful skin for a long time, which does not prevent them from marking their own territory with urine. True, only males leave such scent marks, while females inform about their presence by rubbing their necks with scent glands against the trunks. Males also rub their necks against trees.

When kept collectively, for example in a zoo, okapi begin to observe a clear hierarchy, and in the struggle for dominance they harshly hit their opponents with their heads and hooves. When leadership is achieved, dominant animals even visually try to outdo their subordinates by straightening their necks and raising their heads high. Low-ranking okapi often place their head/neck directly on the ground when expressing respect to their leaders.

How long does an okapi live?

In the wild, okapi are thought to live to be 15–25 years old, but live much longer in zoological parks, often exceeding the 30-year mark.

Sexual dimorphism

Males are usually distinguished from females by their ossicones.. The bony outgrowths of the male, 10–12 cm long, are located on the frontal bones and are directed backward and obliquely. The apices of ossicones are often bare or end in small horny sheaths. Most females do not have horns, and if they do grow, they are smaller in size than males and are always completely covered with skin. Another difference concerns body coloring - mature females are darker than males.

History of the discovery of okapi

The discoverer of the okapi was the famous British traveler and explorer of Africa Henry Morton Stanley, who reached the virgin lands in 1890. tropical forests Congo. It was there that he met the pygmies, who were not surprised by the European horses, saying that almost the same animals roamed the local forests. A little later, the information about the “forest horses” contained in one of Stanley’s reports was decided to be checked by a second Englishman, Governor Johnston of Uganda.

A suitable opportunity presented itself in 1899, when the appearance of the “forest horse” (okapi) was described in detail to the governor by pygmies and a missionary named Lloyd. Evidence began to arrive one after another: soon Belgian hunters presented Johnston with 2 fragments of okapi skin, which he sent to the Royal Zoological Society (London).

And only a year later, when two skulls and a complete skin arrived in London, it became clear that they were far from equine, but similar to the remains of extinct ancestors. The unknown animal had to be urgently renamed, borrowing its original name “okapi” from the pygmies.

Range, habitats

Okapi is found exclusively in the area Democratic Republic Congo (formerly Zaire), although not so long ago these artiodactyls could be found in the western part of Uganda.

Most of the population is concentrated in the northeast of the Republic of the Congo, where there are many inaccessible tropical forests. Okapi prefer to live near river valleys and glades, no higher than 0.5–1 km above sea level, where green vegetation is abundant.

Okapi diet

In tropical rain forests, more often in their lower tiers, okapi search for shoots/leaves of euphorbia trees and shrubs, as well as various fruits, periodically going out to graze on grassy lawns. In total, the okapi food supply includes over 100 species from 13 plant families, most of which enter its diet occasionally.

And only 30 types of plant food are eaten by animals with enviable regularity. The okapi's constant diet consists of both edible and poisonous (albeit to humans) plants:

• green leaves;
• buds and shoots;
• ferns;
• grass;
• fruits;
• mushrooms.

This is interesting! The highest proportion of the daily diet comes from leaves. Okapi plucks them with a sliding movement, having previously grasped the bush shoots with his mobile 40-centimeter tongue.

Analysis of wild okapi droppings showed that the animals eat large quantities of charcoal, as well as the saltpeter-rich brackish clay that covers the banks of local streams and rivers. Biologists have suggested that in this way okapi compensate for the deficiency of mineral salts in their body.

Reproduction and offspring

TO mating games Okapi begin their migration in May–June or November–December. At this time, animals change their habit of existing alone and come together to procreate. However, after copulation, the couple breaks up, and all the worries about the offspring fall on the mother’s shoulders. The female carries the fetus for 440 days, and shortly before giving birth, she goes into the wilderness.

Okapi bring one large (from 14 to 30 kg) and completely independent cub, which after 20 minutes already finds milk in the mother’s breast, and after half an hour is able to follow the mother. After birth, the newborn usually lies quietly in a shelter (created by the female a couple of days after birth) while she forages for food. The mother finds the baby by sounds similar to those made by adult okapi - coughing, a barely audible whistle or a low moo.

This is interesting! Thanks to a clever device digestive tract, all mother's milk is digested to the last gram, and the little okapi does not have feces (with the smell emanating from it), which largely saves it from land-based predators.

Mother's milk remains in the baby's diet until almost one year of age: the baby drinks it constantly for the first six months, and periodically for the second six months, from time to time applying to the nipples. Even switching to self-feeding, the grown cub experiences a strong attachment to its mother and stays close.

However, this connection is strong on both sides - the mother rushes to protect her child, regardless of the degree of danger. Strong hooves are used and strong legs, with which she fights off attacking predators. Full formation of the body in young animals ends no earlier than 3 years of age, although reproductive abilities open much earlier - in females at 1 year 7 months, and in males at 2 years 2 months.

The okapi is an African animal that is also called the forest giraffe. It lives only in Zaire in rugged rain forests. Its main food is leaves of low-tea plants and various fruits.

In fact, okapi is not a small animal at all; its length can reach 2 meters, and you can weigh up to 250 kg. Although the okapi is related to the giraffe, it does not have such long neck. It is of moderate length.

Okapi has a very unusual coloring. Named reddish-brown body, this animal has limbs colored almost like a zebra.

In total, we have a shape similar to a giraffe, limbs like a zebra and a red-brown body. This is a mixture of a giraffe, a zebra and, possibly, a horse :)

Male okapi also have small horns, another similarity between okapi and giraffes. As well as a black and blue tongue, very similar to the tongue of a giraffe.

Due to their secrecy, okapi remained unknown to researchers from Europe for a long time. Only at the beginning of the 20th century the first representatives of this species appeared in European zoos.

Europeans first learned about okapi in 1890; it was in this year that traveler G. Stanley reached the primeval forests of the Congo River basin. The local pygmies were not surprised to see the European's horses, although they saw these animals for the first time. Everything should have been the other way around, for African pygmies the horse must have been a shock. But they said that similar animals live in their forests.

The animals first received the name “forest horse”, then they began to call it okapi, as the locals call it.

And then the story of the discovery of okapi belongs to the Englishman Johnston, who worked as the governor of Uganda. He was even luckier; the Belgians gave him two pieces of skin from a then unknown okapi. The Royal Zoological Society in London carefully examined the samples and concluded that these skins do not belong to any species of zebra.

In 1900, the first description of okapi appeared in scientific publications. It was published by zoologist Sclater, and the animal was called "Johnston's horse."

In 1901, a whole skin and two okapi skulls arrived in London. After studying them, scientists came to the conclusion that the animal’s skull did not look like a horse’s, so the animal, new at that time, belonged to a new genus.

The secrecy of the okapi made it inaccessible for a long time. Requests from zoos in European cities remained unanswered for a long time.

The Antwerp Zoo received a young okapi only in 1919, but he did not live long in captivity, only 50 days. Subsequently, there were more than one attempt to keep okapi in captivity, and all of them ended in the death of the animals.

And only in 1928, a new inhabitant of this very zoo, a female named Tele, took root in captivity and lived until 1943. During World War II she died of starvation.

Even after the war, the Antwerp Zoo paid a lot of attention to okapi, and in 1954 the first okapi cub was born there. But he did not live long. The first successful breeding of okapi in captivity occurred in 1956 in Paris.

Today in the Republic of Congo there is a station for capturing wild okapi, which are supplied to zoos around the world.

In conditions wildlife Okapi are very secretive, so few Europeans have observed this animal in natural conditions. In addition, okapi is found in a small area in the Congo River basin, and there they live only in clearings and forest edges, that is, in places where there is enough edible vegetation in the lower tier.

Herbivores cannot live under the continuous canopy of African rain forests, since there is no food supply there. The okapi's diet consists of leaves, which they pick off using their long, flexible tongue. Okapi also eat grass, but do so very rarely.

As shown by the results of research by zoologist De Medina, okapi are very selective in their food preferences. Thus, in their habitat you can find many species of plants from 13 families, but of these, only 30 species of okapi are eaten. The scientist also examined okapi droppings and found in it charcoal and brackish clay containing saltpeter, which is found on the banks of forest streams. By eating this clay, okapi compensate for the lack of minerals.

Okapi are solitary diurnal animals. They form pairs only during the mating period. Sometimes the female is accompanied by last year's cub, while the male treats the baby peacefully.

Okapi babies are born during the rainy season, that is, in August - October, after a 440-day pregnancy of the female. Childbirth takes place in the most remote and inaccessible forest thickets. Females take great care and protect their babies; in zoos, okapi mothers drive away even zoo workers, whom they are very accustomed to and trust, away from their cubs.

Okapi have well-developed hearing; they are able to detect the smallest rustle in the forest. Their vision also allows them to see far into the twilight of the forest. Due to its stealth and good perception, which allows the okapi to recognize potential danger at distant approaches, this animal is very difficult to detect.

Okapi live in the Congo River basin. They live nowhere else except in Zaire. Hidden and timid, for a long time they remained unknown to European researchers. Their secrecy saves them from hunters; the pygmies of Zaire build special hunting pits to kill okapi.

The okapi's tongue is approximately 40 centimeters long; with this tongue the animal can do unique things. Like a hamster, okapi has special pockets in its mouth for food.

Okapi are big clean people, they take very good care of their skin.

It is still not possible to study the behavior of okapi in the wild. There are constant wars in Zaire, making it impossible for a research mission to arrive safely.

Deforestation certainly affects the okapi population. It is estimated that there are no more than 20,000 of them left, and there are only 45 of them in zoos around the world.

Although okapi live alone and each animal has its own area, there is no competition for territory among them. Okapi's feeding areas can overlap, and several animals can graze together without conflict.

As we have already written, okapi's main diet is leaves, but okapi also eat fruits and mushrooms, some of which are toxic. Perhaps it is precisely to neutralize toxins that okapi eat charcoal from burnt trees, which perfectly absorbs toxins.

Okapi look very unusual; their chocolate fur on most of their body does not match their striped limbs. Males have a pair of small horns on their heads.

He can wash his eyes with his tongue.

Female okapi are somewhat stronger than males. At the same time, the average height at the withers reaches approximately 160 centimeters.

Most close relative okapi is a giraffe.

The discovery of okapi in the 20th century caused a huge sensation. Traveler Stanley G. first spoke about these animals. In 1890, he published a report on animals that lived in the forests of the Congo. This information was confirmed 9 years later, when Johnston found confirmation of this information. After this, in 1900, zoologists published a description of a new species of animal, which was initially called “Johnson’s horse.”

Okapi are a species of artiodactyls. Outwardly, these animals are a little similar to zebras, but family ties they have closer to the giraffes. The legs are long and the neck is elongated, but shorter than that of a giraffe. But the blue tongue, which can reach 35 centimeters, is the same as that of giraffes. Males have horns. The dark-colored coat has a brownish-reddish tint. There are horizontal stripes on the legs. At the same time, the fur on the animal’s legs is light, and the stripes are brown and black. It is these stripes that make okapi look like a zebra.

In general, the animal’s body length is approximately two to two and a half meters excluding the tail, the animal’s height reaches one and a half meters. The length of the tail can reach half a meter. With such sizes, the weight of individuals can reach 350 kilograms.

Lifestyle: nutrition and reproduction

Okapi animals have a clearly defined territory. The boundaries of the marked territory are guarded by animals. As a rule, males live separately from females with cubs. The main activity of animals occurs during the daytime.

Representatives of this genus feed, like giraffes:

• tree leaves,
• fruits.
• mushrooms.

Okapi are quite picky when choosing food, but despite this animal can eat poisonous plants and charred trees, burned by lightning strikes. And to compensate for the lack of minerals in the body, the animal feeds on reddish clay near water bodies.

In the spring, you can observe how males engage in battles for females, clashing necks. The mating period is a rare period of time when female and male okapis can be seen together. It happens that a couple is accompanied by a one-year-old cub, to which the male is not yet hostile.

Okapi female pregnancy lasts more than a year– approximately 15 months. Childbirth occurs during the rainy season; in Congo, this period begins in August and lasts until October. Childbirth occurs in the most remote places. The first few days when a baby is born lies hidden among the vegetation. Little okapi can moo and whistle softly, and also, like adults, make sounds similar to coughing. The mother finds the cub in the thicket by its voice. At the time of birth, the weight of the cub can reach 30 kilograms.

Feeding babies lasts about six months. It is still not known exactly when the cub becomes independent. After a year, males begin to erupt in horns. From two years of age, animals become sexually mature, and by three years of age, okapi become adults. The lifespan of animals in natural conditions has not been reliably established.

Habitat

In nature, okapi are found only in the tropical forests of northeastern Congo. For example, animals can be found:

• in the Salonga Nature Reserve;
• in the Virunga Nature Reserve;
• in the Maiko Nature Reserve.

Okapi live at altitudes from five hundred to one thousand meters. They choose places where there are a lot of bushes and thickets, because in case of danger they hide among them. Rare, but also found on open plains, closer to water.

Males and females have their own feeding areas. These areas may overlap each other. Males also calmly allow females to pass through their territory.

On at the moment There is no exact data on the number of okapi living in the Congo. Destruction of forests negatively affects the number of animals. At the moment okapi are listed in the Red Book as rare animals.

Life in captivity

For a long time zoos could not create conditions for okapi to live. The first time an okapi lived in captivity at the Antwerp Zoo for 50 days happened only in 1919. But from 1928 to 1943, a female okapi lived in this zoo. She died of starvation during World War II. They also did not immediately learn how to reproduce okapi in captivity. The first offspring born in captivity died. Only in 1956 were they able to hatch cubs in Paris.

Okapi is a very fastidious animal. For example, representatives of this genus cannot tolerate sudden changes in temperature and air humidity. They are also very sensitive to the composition of food.

True, in lately Some success has been achieved in keeping and breeding okapi in captivity. It was noted that young individuals adapt to the conditions of the enclosure faster. At first, they try not to disturb the animal. The composition of the food consists only of familiar food. If the animal senses danger, it may die from stress, since the heart cannot withstand the heavy load.

When the animal calms down and gets used to people a little, it is transported to the zoo. In this case, males and females must be kept separately in the enclosure, and the lighting must be monitored. There should not be more than one brightly lit area in the enclosure. If a female gives birth in captivity, then it is necessary to isolate her and the cub. For them they must create a dark corner, which would imitate a forest thicket.

Once accustomed, okapi become friendly to people. They can even take food directly from your hands.