Dwarf giraffes - okapi

With the phrase "dwarf giraffes", the imagination automatically obligingly provides a picture of a friend familiar from the childhood of the animal, only in a small copy. However, reality is not exactly like that. Outwardly this amazing animal does not at all resemble its long-nosed relative. What is the name of the dwarf giraffe in fact? Where does he live? Under what circumstances was this amazing creature discovered?

Homeland of okapi

In the natural environment okapi live only in one place on our planet - in the north-eastern territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is a marshy area, located between three large lakes, overgrown with impenetrable tropical forest.

Here in these wilds and hide dwarf giraffes. The fact that they proved to be a suitable place for the quiet life of animals is evidenced by the fact that they became known to science only in 1901. And the news made a real sensation in the circles of specialists.

The discovery of a new mammal

The first mention of an unknown animal in his book was casually mentioned by GM Stanley, a researcher of Africa. This fact seriously interested Harry Johnston, who was then the governor of Uganda. Information on the okapi (this was the name of the local native aborigines-pygmies) could be collected only bit by bit. And in the literal sense of the word.

First Johnston got a pair of scraps of okapi skins. Then he managed to see two skulls and a solid skin. Having received a copy of the okapi skull, Johnston immediately realized that this animal is a close relative of the giraffe. He sent all the data to London. There the new species received the official name - okapi Johnston.

Strange combination

Dwarf giraffes okapi look pretty cute, but it's very difficult to dismiss the idea that this is some incredible combination of different animals. From the croup to the middle of the hind legs, they have the same color as the zebra. The same strips and on the upper part of the front legs. At the bottom, all four limbs are completely white, but at the base of the hooves there is a wide black band.

The shape of the body looks more like an antelope, but the size of a okapi with a horse. Ears are large and long, and the horns are almost invisible. But the language dwarf giraffes can compete even with an anteater. It is so long that the animal quietly cleanses the eyes and ears to them both from the inside and outside.

The tongue at the okapi is blue in color, as in dogs of the Chow Chow breed or in the giraffe. With this very sticky and mobile organ, they deftly cut off the tender foliage from the trees.

Habits

Up to now, we know little about the habits of animal life in the natural environment. Basically, all observations are made for individuals who are in captivity.

They feed on okapi foliage and young shoots of trees. And minerals and necessary salts are extracted directly from clay, which is eaten along with plant food.

Until recently, it was even thought that the okapis are nocturnal. However, it is not. Simply these timid creatures are very cautious, and it is almost impossible to stumble on them during the day. Okapi has an extremely sensitive hearing. Therefore predators, and even man, it is not easy to catch them unawares.

A dwarf giraffe, whose name is so unusual for our hearing, can survive more than three decades in captivity.

Pregnancy in females lasts more than a year - about 15 months. For the birth of okapi, remote corners are remote. Babies are fed milk for six months.

Okapi prefer a lonely lifestyle. They have a marked territory, but it often happens that pasture sites of several individuals can overlap. Also, they are very hard to tolerate a change in habitat, so they are rarely seen in zoos.