Okapi African animal. Dwarf giraffes - okapi. Lifestyle, nutrition

The discovery of the okapi in the 20th century caused a sensation. For the first time, the traveler Stanley G. spoke about these animals. In 1890, he published a report on animals that lived in the forests of the Congo. This information was confirmed 9 years later, when Johnston found confirmation of this information. After that, in 1900, zoologists published a description of a new species of animal, which at first was called "Johnson's horse."

Okapis belong to the species of artiodactyls. Outwardly, these animals are a bit like zebras, but family ties they have closer to giraffes. The legs are long and the neck is elongated, but shorter than that of a giraffe. But the blue tongue, which can reach 35 centimeters, is the same as that of giraffes. Males have horns. The dark coat has a brownish-reddish tint. There are horizontal stripes on the legs. At the same time, the hair on the legs of the animal is light, and the stripes are brown and black. It is these stripes that make the okapi look like a zebra.

In general, the length of the body of the animal is approximately two to two and a half meters, excluding the tail, the growth of the animal reaches one and a half meters. The length of the tail can reach half a meter. With such dimensions, the weight of individuals can reach 350 kilograms.

Lifestyle: nutrition and reproduction

Okapi animals have a well-defined territory. The boundaries of the marked territory are guarded by animals. As a rule, males live separately from females with cubs. The main activity of animals is in daytime days.

They eat, like giraffes, representatives of this genus:

• tree leaves,
• fruits.
• mushrooms.

In the choice of food, okapis are quite picky, but despite this animal can eat poisonous plants and charred trees burnt out by lightning strikes. And in order to compensate for the lack of minerals in the body, the animal feeds on reddish clay near water bodies.

In the spring, you can watch how males arrange battles for females, colliding with their necks. The mating season is that rare period of time when you can see female and male okapi together. It happens that a couple is accompanied by a one-year-old cub, to which the male is not yet hostile.

Pregnancy of female okapi lasts more than a year - approximately 15 months. Childbirth occurs during the rainy season, in the Congo this period begins in August and lasts until October. Childbirth happens in the most remote places. The baby who was born lies for the first few days, hiding among the vegetation. Little okapi can whistle and whistle loudly, and also, like adults, make sounds similar to coughing. The mother finds the cub in the thicket by the voice. At the time of birth, the weight of the cub can reach 30 kilograms.

Feeding babies lasts about six months. It is still not known exactly when the cub becomes independent. After a year, horns begin to erupt in males. From the age of two, animals become sexually mature, and by the age of three, okapi become adults. The life span of animals in natural conditions has not been reliably established.

Habitat

In nature, okapis are found only in tropical forests in the northeast of the Congo. For example, animals can be found:

• in the Salonga nature reserve;
• in the Virunga reserve;
• in the Maiko nature reserve.

Okapi live at an altitude of five hundred to a thousand meters. They choose places where there are a lot of bushes and thickets, as in case of danger they hide among them. Rarely, but also found on open plains, closer to the water.

Males and females have their own feeding areas. These areas may overlap. Also, males calmly let females pass through their possessions.

On this moment there is no exact data on the number of okapis living in the Congo. Deforestation negatively affects the number of animals. At the moment okapis are listed in the Red Book as rare animals.

Life in captivity

For a long time in zoos they could not create conditions for the life of okapi. The first time an okapi lived in captivity at the Antwerp Zoo for 50 days happened only in 1919. But already from 1928 to 1943, a female okapi lived in this zoo. She died of starvation during World War II. They also did not immediately learn how to breed okapi in captivity. The first offspring born in captivity died. Only in 1956 in Paris were able to leave the cub.

Okapi is a very picky animal. For example, members of this genus do not tolerate sudden changes in temperature and air humidity. They are also very sensitive to the composition of food.

True, in Lately Some progress has been made in keeping and breeding okapi in captivity. It is noted that young individuals adapt to the conditions of the enclosure faster. At first, they try not to disturb the animal. The composition of the feed is only the usual food. If the animal feels danger, it may die from stress, as the heart cannot withstand a heavy load.

When the animal calms down and gets used to people a little, it is transported to the zoo. At the same time, males and females in the enclosure must be kept separately, as well as monitor the lighting. There should not be more than one brightly lit area in the aviary. If the female gives birth in captivity, then it is imperative to isolate her and the cub. For them must create a dark corner, which would imitate the forest thicket.

Once used to, okapis become friendly to people. They can even take food directly from their hands.

With the phrase “pygmy giraffes”, the imagination automatically helpfully provides a picture of an animal familiar from childhood, only in a smaller copy. However, the reality is not quite like that. Outwardly, this amazing animal does not at all resemble its long-necked relative. What is the real name of a pygmy giraffe? Where does he live? Under what circumstances was this amazing creature discovered?

Homeland okapi

IN natural environment okapis live in only one single place on our planet - in the northeastern Democratic territory. This is a swampy area located between three large lakes, overgrown with impenetrable rainforest.

It is in these wilds that dwarf giraffes hide. How they turned out to be a suitable place for a quiet life of animals is also evidenced by the fact that they became known to science only in 1901. And this news made a real sensation in the circles of specialists.

Discovery of a new mammal

For the first time, G. M. Stanley, an African explorer, casually mentioned an unknown animal in his book. This fact seriously interested Harry Johnston, who was at that time the governor of Uganda. Information about the okapi (as the local aboriginal pygmies called this animal) could only be collected bit by bit. And in the literal sense of the word.

First, Johnston got hold of a couple of okapi skin scraps. Then he managed to see two skulls and a whole skin. Upon receiving a copy of the okapi skull, Johnston immediately realized that the animal was a giraffe. He sent all the data to London. There the new kind officially named Johnston's okapi.

strange combination

Dwarf okapi giraffes look pretty cute, but it's hard 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 a color like that of a zebra. The same stripes are on the upper part of the front legs. Below, all four limbs are completely white, but at the base of the hooves there is a wide

The shape of the body is most reminiscent of an antelope, but the size of an okapi is about the size of a horse. and long, and the horns are almost invisible. But with their tongues, pygmy giraffes can compete even with an anteater. It is so long that the animal calmly cleans its eyes and ears with it, both inside and out.

Okapi language of blue color, like a chow-chow dog or a giraffe. With this very sticky and mobile organ, they deftly tear off the delicate foliage from the trees.

habits

Up to today we know little about the habits of animals in their natural environment. Basically, all observations are made for individuals in captivity.

Okapi feed on leaves and young shoots of trees. And minerals and essential salts are extracted directly from clay, which is eaten along with plant foods.

Until recently, it was even believed that the okapi led night image life. However, it is not. It’s just that these shy creatures are very cautious, and it’s almost impossible to stumble upon them during the day. Okapis have extremely sensitive hearing. Therefore, it is not easy for predators, and for humans too, to catch them by surprise.

The pygmy giraffe, whose name is so unusual for our ears, can live in captivity for more than three decades.

Pregnancy in females lasts more than a year - approximately 15 months. For childbirth, okapi choose remote, hard-to-reach corners. Babies are fed milk for six months.

Okapi prefer a solitary lifestyle. They have a marked territory, but it often happens that pasture areas of several individuals may overlap. They are also very difficult to tolerate habitat changes, so they are rarely seen in zoos.

Description of the okapi

Okapia johnstoni - Johnston's okapi, or simply okapi, is the only artiodactyl of the Okapia genus of the same name, which is part of the giraffe family. However, the most notable similarities are not so much with giraffes, but with their ancestors, as well as with zebras (in terms of color) and horses (in terms of physique).

Appearance

Okapi is bizarrely beautiful - velvety reddish-chocolate hair on the head, sides and rump is suddenly replaced on the legs by a white tone with uneven black stripes that copy. The tail is moderate (30–40 cm), ending in a brush. Most of all, the okapi looks like an exotically colored horse, which has acquired small horns (ossicons) with keratinized, annually replaced tips.

This is a large artiodactyl almost 2 m long, becoming heavier in adulthood up to 2.5 centners with a height at the withers of 1.5–1.72 m. The top of the head and ears repeat the chocolate background of the body, but the muzzle (from the base of the ears to the neck) painted white, with which contrast large dark eyes. The ears of the okapi are wide, tubular and extremely mobile, the neck is much shorter and equal to 2/3 of the length of the body.

This is interesting! The okapi has a long and thin, almost 40-cm bluish tongue, with which the animal washes itself, calmly licking its eyes and reaching out to the ears without tension.

The upper lip is divided in the center by a small vertical strip of bare skin. The okapi does not have a gallbladder, but has cheek pouches on either side. oral cavity where food can be stored.

Lifestyle, behavior

Okapi, unlike herd giraffes, prefer to exist alone and rarely gather in groups (usually this happens when looking for food). The personal territories of males overlap one another and do not have clear boundaries (unlike the territories of females), but they are always larger in area and reach 2.5–5 km2. Animals graze mostly during the day, silently making their way through the thickets, but sometimes they also allow themselves twilight sorties. At night, they rest without losing their inherent vigilance: it is not surprising that of the sense organs, the okapi has the best developed hearing and sense of smell.

This is interesting! Johnston's okapi does not have vocal cords, so sounds are produced when air is exhaled. Animals communicate with each other with a quiet whistle, lowing or a low cough.

Okapis are distinguished by scrupulous neatness and love to lick their beautiful skin for a long time, which does not prevent them from marking their own territory with urine. True, such scent marks leave only males, and women inform about their presence by rubbing their neck with odorous glands on the trunks. Males also rub their necks against trees.

With a collective content, for example, in a zoo, okapis begin to observe a clear hierarchy, and in the struggle for supremacy, they severely beat rivals with their heads and hooves. When leadership is obtained, dominant animals even visually try to outdo subordinates by straightening their necks and raising their heads high. Low-ranking okapis often place their head/neck directly on the ground when paying respect to leaders.

How long does an okapi live

It is believed that in wild nature okapis live to be 15–25 years old, but live much longer in zoos, often in their 30s.

sexual dimorphism

Males are usually distinguished from females by their ossicons.. The bony outgrowths of the male, 10–12 cm long, are located on the frontal bones and are directed backward and obliquely. The tops of the ossicons are often bare or end in small horn sheaths. Most females do not have horns, and if they do grow, they are inferior in size to males and are always completely covered with skin. Another difference concerns the color of the body - sexually mature females are darker than males.

History of the discovery of okapi

The okapi was discovered by the famous British traveler and explorer of Africa Henry Morton Stanley, who in 1890 reached the virgin rainforest Congo. It was there that he met the pygmies, who were not surprised by European horses, saying that almost the same animals roam in the local forests. A little later, the information about the "forest horses", set out in one of Stanley's reports, decided to check the second Englishman, the governor of Uganda, Johnston.

A suitable opportunity presented itself in 1899, when the exterior of the "forest horse" (okapi) was described in detail to the governor by pygmies and a missionary named Lloyd. Evidence began to arrive one after another: soon the Belgian hunters presented Johnston with 2 fragments of the okapi skin as a gift, which he sent to the Royal Zoological Society (London).

And only a year later, when two skulls and a full skin arrived in London, it became clear that they were far from horses, but similar to the remains of extinct progenitors. An unknown animal had to be urgently renamed, borrowing its original name "okapi" from the pygmies.

Range, habitats

Okapi is found exclusively in the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), although not so long ago these artiodactyls could also be found in the western part of Uganda.

Most of the livestock is concentrated in the northeast of the Republic of the Congo, where there are many hard-to-reach tropical forests. Okapi prefer to live near river valleys and glades, no higher than 0.5–1 km above sea level, where green vegetation is abundant.

Okapi Diet

In tropical rainforests, more often in their lower tiers, okapis look for shoots / leaves of euphorbia trees and shrubs, as well as a variety of fruits, periodically going out to graze on grassy lawns. In total, the okapi food base includes over 100 species from 13 plant families, most of which enter its diet occasionally.

And only 30 types of plant food are eaten by animals with enviable regularity.. The constant diet of okapi is made up of both edible and poisonous (albeit for humans) plants:

• green leaves;
• buds and shoots;
• ferns;
• grass;
• fruits;
• mushrooms.

This is interesting! Leaves account for the highest proportion of the daily ration. The okapi plucks them with a gliding motion, having previously clasped the shrub shoots with its mobile 40-centimeter tongue.

An analysis of wild okapi droppings showed that animals eat charcoal in large doses, as well as brackish clay saturated with saltpeter, which covers the banks of local streams and rivers. Biologists have suggested that in this way the okapi make up for the deficiency of mineral salts in their body.

Reproduction and offspring

Okapi start mating games in May-June or November-December. At this time, animals change their habit of being alone and converge to procreate. However, after copulation, the couple breaks up, and all the worries about the offspring fall on the mother's shoulders. The female carries the fetus for 440 days, and shortly before giving birth, she goes into a dense thicket.

Okapi bring one large (from 14 to 30 kg) and completely independent cub, which after 20 minutes already finds milk in the mother's breast, and after half an hour is able to follow the mother. After birth, the newborn usually lies quietly in a shelter (created by the female a couple of days after birth) while she forages. The mother finds the cub by sounds similar to those made by adult okapi - coughing, barely audible whistling or low lowing.

This is interesting! Thanks to the cunning device of the digestive tract, all mother's milk is absorbed to the last gram, and the little okapi does not have feces (with the smell coming from them), which largely saves him from land-based predators.

Mother's milk is preserved in the baby's diet until almost one year old: for the first six months, the cub drinks it constantly, and for the second six months - periodically, from time to time applying to the nipples. Even having switched to self-feeding, the grown-up cub experiences a strong attachment to the mother and keeps close by.

However, this connection is strong on both sides - the mother rushes to protect her child, regardless of the degree of danger. In the course are strong hooves and strong legs, with which she fights off the pressing predators. The complete formation of the body in young animals ends no earlier than 3 years of age, although reproductive abilities open much earlier - in females at 1 year 7 months, and in males - at 2 years 2 months.

OKAPI
OKAPI(Okapia johnstoni) is an artiodactyl animal of the giraffidae family. Endemic to Zaire. Inhabits tropical rain forests, where it feeds on shoots and leaves of milkweeds, as well as the fruits of various plants.

This is a rather large animal: body length is about 2 m, height at the shoulders is 1.5-1.72 m, weight is about 250 kg. Unlike the giraffe, the okapi has a moderately long neck. Long ears, large expressive eyes and a tail ending in a tassel complement appearance this largely enigmatic animal. The coloration is very peculiar: the body is reddish-brown, the legs are white with dark transverse stripes on the thighs and shoulders. Males have a pair of small, skin-covered horns with horn "tips" on their heads, which are replaced annually. The tongue is long and thin, bluish in color.

The story of the discovery of the okapi is one of the biggest zoological sensations of the 20th century. The first information about an unknown animal was received in 1890 by the famous traveler G. Stanley, who managed to get to the virgin forests of the Congo basin. In his report, Stanley said that the pygmies who saw his horses were not surprised (contrary to expectations!) And explained that similar animals are found in their forests. A few years later, the then governor of Uganda, the Englishman Johnston, decided to check Stanley's words: the information about unknown "forest horses" seemed ridiculous. However, during the expedition of 1899, Johnston managed to find confirmation of Stanley's words: first, the pygmies, and then the white missionary Lloyd, described to Johnston the appearance of the "forest horse" and reported its local name - okapi. And then Johnston was even more lucky: in Fort Beni, the Belgians gave him two pieces of okapi skin! They were sent to London to the Royal Zoological Society. Examination of them showed that the skin does not belong to any of the known species zebras, and in December 1900 the zoologist Sclater published a description of a new species of animal, giving it the name "Johnston's horse." Only in June 1901, when a full skin and two skulls were sent to London, it turned out that they did not belong to a horse, but were close to the bones of long-extinct animals. It was, therefore, a completely new species. That's how it was legitimized modern name okapi is a name that has been common for thousands of years among the pygmies from the forests of Ituri. However, okapi remained almost inaccessible. For a long time, requests from zoos were also unsuccessful. It was not until 1919 that the Antwerp Zoo received the first young okapi, who lived in Europe for only 50 days. Several more attempts ended in failure. However, in 1928, a female okapi named Tele arrived at the Antwerp Zoo. She lived until 1943 and died of starvation already during the Second World War. And in 1954, the first okapi cub was born in the same Antwerp zoo, which, unfortunately, soon died. The first fully successful breeding of the okapi was achieved in 1956 in Paris. Currently, in Epulu (Republic of the Congo, Kinshasa) there is a special station for catching live okapis. According to some reports, okapi are kept in 18 zoos in the world and successfully breed.

We still know little about the life of the okapi in the wild. Few Europeans saw this animal in general in a natural setting. The distribution of okapi is limited to a relatively small area in the Congo Basin, occupied by dense and inaccessible tropical forests. However, even within this woodland okapi are found only in a few bright places near rivers and glades, where green vegetation from upper tier descends to the ground. Under the continuous canopy of the forest, okapi cannot live - they simply have nothing to eat. The food of the okapi is mainly leaves: with their long and flexible tongue, the animals capture the young shoot of the bush and then rip off the foliage from it with a sliding motion. Only occasionally do they graze on lawns with grass. As studies by the zoologist De Medina have shown, the okapi is quite picky in the choice of food: out of 13 plant families that form the lower tier of the rainforest, it regularly uses only 30 species. Okapi droppings also contained charcoal and brackish clay containing saltpeter from the banks of forest streams. Apparently, this is how the animal compensates for the lack of mineral feed. Okapis feed during daylight hours. Okapi are solitary animals. Only during mating, the female joins the male for several days. Sometimes such a pair is accompanied by last year's cub, to which the adult male does not experience hostile feelings. Pregnancy lasts about 440 days, childbirth occurs in August - October, during the rainy season. For childbirth, the female retires to the most remote places, and the newborn cub lies hidden in the thicket for several days. The mother finds him by his voice. The voice of an adult okapi resembles a quiet cough. The same sounds are made by the cub, but it can also moo softly like a calf or occasionally whistle softly. The mother is very attached to the baby: there are cases when the female tried to drive even people away from the cub. Of the sense organs, the okapi has the most developed hearing and sense of smell.

Okapis live in the tropical forests of Africa in the Congo Basin (Zaire). These are small, very timid animals, similar in color to a zebra, from the giraffe family. Okapi usually graze alone, silently making their way through the forest thickets. Okapis are so sensitive that even pygmies cannot sneak up on them. They lure these animals into traps.

The color of the okapi's coat is brown, and the legs are streaked with black and white stripes. The male okapi is smaller than the female. It has a pair of miniature horns covered in leather. With its forty-centimeter tongue, the okapi can do amazing things, such as licking behind its black ears with a red border. Inside the mouth on both sides it has pockets in which it can store food.

Okapis are very neat animals. They like to take care of their skin for a long time.

Who is it - a horse, a zebra or a giraffe? His appearance combines all the characteristics of these animals. At first glance, okapi look like horses, but their neck and limbs are longer than those of an ordinary horse. And the coloring is generally misleading.

Okapis are rare view artiodactyl animals from the giraffe family.

They live exclusively in the Congo Basin ( Democratic Republic Congo). Okapi prefer thick rainforests in the north or east of this country.

The okapi has a very beautiful and bizarre color: the muzzle is dark white, the legs and rump are painted in black and white stripes, and the body itself has a noble chocolate color, which shimmers in the sun with various shades of red.

The height of the animal at the withers reaches 160 centimeters, and the length from head to tail is 2 meters. Despite their not too big sizes they weigh decently, up to 250 kilograms.

Males are slightly lower than females, they have 2 short horns on their heads. Females cannot boast of such a “head decoration”.

Their tongue is blue, just like a Chow Chow dog. In addition, it is so long that the animal can easily reach them to the eyes. They need a tongue of this length to grab succulent leaves from tree branches. In addition to the leaves of trees, okapi are very fond of fruits and mushrooms, they can also eat grass or ferns.

Okapis are diurnal animals, but still try not to catch anyone's eye. They are skittish. They prefer to stay alone. Very rarely in nature they can be found in small groups. Only in the mating season they go in pairs. Sometimes a couple is accompanied by last year's cub.

Okapi pregnancy lasts 450 days!!! They give birth during the rainy season, which lasts from August to October. For childbirth, the female is looking for a quiet and remote place. A newborn cub, until it gets stronger, hides in its shelter. The mother finds him by his voice. First, she gives a kind of lowing signal with a slight whistle, and the baby responds. The female and the cub are very attached to each other.