Okapi

Hidden in the shadows of Africa’s dense Ituri Forest lives a shy relative of the giraffe called the okapi. Like the giraffe, the okapi uses its long, prehensile tongue to pluck leaves and buds from trees. The foot-long tongue also allows the okapi to lick and clean its own eyelids and ears. An okapi also walks like a giraffe, swinging forward both legs on the same side of the body together. Okapis are solitary, only coming together to mate.

• The zebra-like stripes on the back of the okapi’s legs are thought to serve as a “follow me” signal for calves.
• Okapis defend their young from predators, such as the leopard, by kicking with their feet.
• The okapi was only officially discovered in 1900.