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Okapi

Okapia johnstoni

Changing appearances

The flashy pattern is actually the perfect camouflage. In the forest thickets the dazzling stripes look like sunbeams , while the contours of its body blend perfectly with the background. 

Characteristics

  • Origin

    Africa: Democratic Republic of the Congo

  • Habitat

    dense rainforest, preferably in the dense undergrowth on the banks of streams and rivers

  • Diet

    Leaves, buds, young shoots they pick with their long tongue

  • Status

    10,000 to 35,000 animals

  • Size

    Body length: 200-210 cm; shoulder height: 135-160 cm

  • Weight

    200 to 350 kg

  • Gestation period

    15 months

  • Achievable age

    up to 30 years

Threat Categories of IUCN

The forest giraffe

The okapi only has one relative: the giraffe. You can see it by the tongue! Like the giraffe, the okapi has a blue tongue. It can be up to 35 cm long – long enough for the okapi to clean behind the ears. 

Did you know that ...

... the scientific world only discovered the okapi around 1900, 
... only the male okapi have little horns, just 15 cm long,
... they have an extremely well developed sense of hearing? 

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Opening hours

Today, 19. April
9:00 - 18:30
Last admission: 17:00
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