Why does an okapi have stripes

The okapi is indeed the only living relative of the giraffe. Like a giraffe, an okapi has very large, upright ears, which catch even slight sounds. Okapis are hard to find in their native habitat: deep forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including Ituri Forest, a dense rainforest.

Okapis are very wary, and their highly developed hearing alerts them to run when they hear humans in the distance. In fact, while indigenous people of the Ituri Forest knew of okapis and would occasionally catch one in their pit traps, scientists did not know of okapis until The secretive nature of okapis and the difficulty most humans have traveling in okapi habitat have made okapis hard to observe.

We estimate there might be more than 35, okapis in their native habitat, but no one knows for sure. Made for a rainforest: The okapi's home is in the tropical rainforest in the northeast region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo formerly Zaire , in Central Africa.

Why does the okapi have zebra-like stripes? These markings, which seem very bold to us, offer great camouflage when an okapi stands in the partial sunlight that filters through its dense rainforest habitat. The stripes may also help a young okapi follow its mother through the dark forest, and they may help adults find each other, too.

In a rainforest, there are trees with branches hanging down, as well as roots and tree trunks to dodge. Okapis need to have shorter legs and necks to help them swerve around these obstacles.

Being really tall is not a good idea in a forest! Okapis often travel up to 0. They are generally solitary, unless an adult female has a calf with her. Adult males have home ranges that cover more area, and they can travel up to 2. The males try to keep other males out of their territories but allow females to travel through in search of food. Both male and female okapis are most active during the afternoon through the evening.

Okapis use their prehensile tongue to get food by pulling leaves from trees and into their mouth. The tongue is also an important grooming tool, helping to keep the velvety soft, short coat in tip-top shape.

Okapis have also been seen eating clay and burnt charcoal, probably for minerals. And just like giraffes, sheep, and goats, okapis are ruminants. I smell you: While okapis travel for the most part by themselves within their home ranges, they still have ways of communicating with others whose ranges overlap. Like giraffe, okapi have skin-covered horns and a long black or dark blue prehensile tongue.

Unlike giraffe, okapi are solitary animals living in dense rainforest areas. Due to their size and their versatile tongue, both giraffe and okapi are able to reach vegetation higher up than most other hoofed animals.

Their tongue is inches cm long and black or dark blue in color. In the wild : Leaves, buds, grasses, ferns, fruit and fungi. Mineral requirements are filled by ingesting sulfurous, slightly salty, reddish clay found near rivers and streams. Both males and females are sexually mature at three years of age. During mating time, females issue trumpet calls and leave scent traits in the forest to alert males. After mating, the male and female go their separate ways.

After a gestation of 14 months okapi give birth to a single calf weighing pounds kg in dense forest vegetation. The calf can stand within 30 minutes and begin nursing in minutes. For the first two months the calf is hidden in the underbrush and nurses infrequently.

Hiding and resting protects calves from predators and seems to promote rapid growth. Calves are weaned at about six months, although they may continue to suckle for a year. Males develop ossicones between one and five years. Lifespan in the wild is difficult to determine for these secretive animals but in captivity okapi can live between 15 and 20 years. The okapi has been protected since and is not currently listed as threatened. However, the emergence of a massive bushmeat trade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo now threatens the okapi throughout its range.

What is a zebra called? It, or particular subspecies of it, have also been known as the common zebra, the dauw, Burchell's zebra actually the subspecies Equus quagga burchellii , Chapman's zebra, Wahlberg's zebra, Selous' zebra, Grant's zebra, Boehm's zebra and the quagga another extinct subspecies, Equus quagga quagga. What animal looks like a giraffe? Can a Zonkey reproduce? Like numerous other hybrid animals, the Zonkey itself cannot produce offspring of its own, as the cross-breeding of two different species often results in their young being sterile and unable to continue a population.

How many types of zebra are there? What two animals make an okapi? Okapi, Okapia johnstoni , cud-chewing hoofed mammal that is placed along with the giraffe in the family Giraffidae order Artiodactyla. It serves as the flagship species a popular species that has become a symbol for the conservation of a region for the Ituri Forest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. How long can a okapi live? How many Okapi are left? The Okapi has been protected by law in the Democratic Republic of Congo formally Zaire since , and the IUCN last estimated that there were between 10, and 35, individuals left in the wild.

Why do zebras have stripes? It's been called camouflage to confuse big predators, an identity signal to other zebras and a kind of wearable air conditioner.

Now most scientists agree that the function of a zebra's stripes is to ward off biting flies that can carry deadly diseases. Where do most Okapi live? The Maryland Zoo has a pair of okapi — two males — on exhibit in the African Journey near the giraffes. Who eats Okapi?