kk-okapi

= You could be standing just steps from one and you would never notice. . . =

Size~

 * ===Body length: 6.6- 7 feet long ===
 * ===Weight: 462- 550 pounds ===


===Range: Okapis live mostly in the tropical Zaire rainforest located in the demoratic Republic of Congo. The altitude that they prefer ranges between 1650 and 3300 feet. They like to stick aound the mountanous rainforests but ventur out depanding where they are. To the north they like the savannahs; open woodlands are liked in the south; the east is where the mountains are; and in the west are swampier forests, which is actually rather funny because the okapi likes to stay away from swamps. === ===Diet: These herbivorous animals eat many things like greenery such as leaves, soft twigs, shoots and buds; fresh produce like carrots, apples, and onions; food pellets, alfalfa hay, and fungi are also among the list. A few scientists have discovered that okapis also eat lightning burnt tree bark by examining their feces. As do all animals (including humans) they need minerals and salt, so to get their supply they eat a salty sulfurous red clay found by water resources. === ===Behavior: These secretive-shy animals are very unsocial, though if they had to, they would be able to tolerate others. Okapis like to stay away from others, marking their territory to keep others away. Males tend to have larger areas, marking with urine, as well as the only way the females mark, which is by rubbing their necks on trees. There is about one okapi per two square kilometeres. Males mate by waiting for females to stroll onto their territory.Okapis can have aggressive behaviors such as kicking or head throwing. They also have a playful beahior, and when being social, will groom others. === ===Reproduction: Okapis reproduce by giving birth to live young. An Okapi can only give birth to one baby per birth. The gestation period is 14-15 months. A female is fully matured at about two years old, and males. . . later. ===  **Physical description: Velvet-like coat that is typically a purple-red or chestnut-brown. There are horizontal stripes, like those of a zebra, on the upper legs in the back. The lower legs are white with black bands wrapping around the joints. The horse-like head is some-what lighter than the rest of the body, yet the muzzle is black. They have a thick neck which extends far to reach leaves high up in trees. The okapi has large ears and a long black tongue. Male okapis have skin covered knobs or horns which develop on the head at around age five. **

History: It's quite hard to understand the history of the okapi. All that can b found is the in the first decade of the first century,
===the okapi was thought of as a mythical creature like that of a unicorn. i mean come on, think about it, a creature with the likeness of many different animals, that can lick its own eyes, and such clear fine hearing that it can sense an approaching hunter before they're anywhere near them. . . The okapis were a perfect example of the Congo people biological beliefs. ===

===Status: Okapis are not endangered, but they are near threatend. An estimation says that there are between 10000 and 20000 okapis remaining in the wild, but the estimate is very ahrd to make because of the okapis secretive life in the forests. === ===Adaptations:Okapis can blend into the leaf littered forest because of their similar russet colored fur. Imagine this, you're about twenty-five paces away from an okapi, and you can maybe pick up some kind of figure if you're looking closely, but that;s it, you won't know what you're so close to. Any further away, the okapi would be entirely invisible to the naked eye as long as their in their natural habitat. <span style="color: rgb(245, 140, 56);">  === ===<span style="color: rgb(245, 140, 56);"><span style="color: rgb(100, 25, 210);"><span style="color: rgb(245, 140, 56);">Communication: It tends to be used as mating calls, distress calls, or mother-offspring bonding, but that's about it for these anti-social animals. Even though the okapi has a very good sense of smell, they mostly rely on hearing. The chuffs or cough calls they make can be heard by people, but other sounds they make are at such a low frequency that they are completely unaudible, making it so that okapis can communicate without potential predators hearing. These low sounds, can travel very long distances through the thick under brush of the forest. <span style="color: rgb(255, 197, 0);">   === ===<span style="color: rgb(245, 140, 56);"><span style="color: rgb(100, 25, 210);"><span style="color: rgb(245, 140, 56);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 197, 0);">Family: The giraffe is the closest relative to the okapi, and the okapi is the ONLY relative to the giraffe. The family name is //__Giraffidae.__// In a way the okapi is very different from the giraffe because of their short legs and neck, but compared to other animals they legs and neck are quite long. ===