Okapi
Appearance The okapi is a beautiful and unusual animal. With its white-and-black striped hindquarters and front legs, it looks like it must be related to zebras! But take a look at an okapi’s head, and you’ll notice a resemblance to giraffes.
It is a large animal, a length of approximately 2 meters, weighs 250 to 280 pounds.
Interesting facts Like a giraffe, the okapi has very large, upright ears, which catch even slight sounds, helping the animal avoid trouble. The okapi also has a long, dark, prehensile tongue, just like a giraffe’s, to help it strip the buds and young leaves from the understory brush of its rain forest home.
Where they live? Okapis are hard to find in the wild. Their natural habitat is the Ituri Forest, a dense rain forest in central Africa. Okapis are very wary, and their highly developed hearing alerts them to run when they hear humans in the distance.
San Diego Zoo Safari Park, shows mother Ayana and her 2 -week-old calf.
The male calf, named Jackson, was born on July 6 and is spending time with his mother in the okapi barn at the Safari Park as he gets to know his surroundings. Okapi newborns can stand within 30 minutes of birth and nurse for the first time within an hour. They have the same coloring as an adult but have a short fringe of hair along the spine, which generally disappears by the time they are 12 to 14 months old.
Food Okapis are herbivores, feeding on leaves, buds, grasses, ferns, fruits and mushrooms.
I love Okapi because they are unusual and graceful animals. The history of man's relationship with Okapi is intertwined with all sorts of legends and mysteries and someone still doesn't believe in their existence. But I believe.
Thank you for your attention
