Okapi

Okapia Johnstoni - Okapi’s scientific name. Residing naturally in the Congolese forest, it has stripes like Zebra but unrelated to it. Okapi is shorter than the giraffe to which it is closely related. Its height is seen as a form of adaptation, the stripes a survival mechanism which keeps them from predators by blending in the vegetation.

Okapi is an herbivore. They feed on leaves, worms...their main predator is the leopard.

Their scientific name - Johnstoni comes from Sir Harry Johnston. He was a British commissioner in neighboring Uganda in the early 20th century and he sent evidence of the Okapi’s existence to the western world. 

Previously, due to various journals describing the Okapi in late 19th century, there have been speculations arising from humans fascinated with the animal and Okapi was thought to be the African unicorn.

Males have ossicones (like a horn) on their head, females have a brush of hair instead. Okapi are mainly diurnal (active in the day) and lives a solitary life. They are good parents with a gestation period of 440 - 450(15 months) which usually results in one calf 😅.

Due to human settlement and poaching, Okapi is an endangered animal despite conservation efforts. They are now raised in Zoos over the world. 

Looking like a donkey with stripes of a zebra, Okapi is cloven footed like a horse but related to none - a special specie on its own.