Facts about Okapi Biological Secrets
- 06
Stripes on the okapi's hindquarters are unique to each individual, functioning like fingerprints and helping calves visually follow their mothers through dense forest.
- 05
A okapi's coat produces an oily, water-resistant secretion that helps protect the animal during the heavy rainfall of its Central African rainforest habitat.
- 04
Male okapis have short, skin-covered horns called ossicones, a feature shared with giraffes and absent in females of most populations.
- 03
Despite resembling zebras, okapis are the only living relative of the giraffe, belonging to the family Giraffidae.
- 02
Okapis possess scent glands on their feet that leave behind a tar-like secretion, allowing them to mark territory as they walk.
- 01
The okapi's tongue is long enough to clean its own ears and eyelids, a trait it shares with its closest relative, the giraffe.