The only living species in the family Giraffidae besides the giraffe is the okapi.
The okapi (Okapia johnstoni) is a forest-dwelling ruminant native to the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its dark body, white rump, and zebra-like leg stripes once made it seem related to zebras, but genetic and anatomical evidence places it closest to the giraffe. Both animals have elongated necks, prehensile tongues, cloven hooves, and skin-covered horn-like ossicones.
The contrast between them is striking: giraffes inhabit open African savannas and are the world’s tallest mammals, while okapis live mainly in dense rainforest and stand only about 1.7 metres at the shoulder. The species was scientifically described in 1901, after specimens reached European zoologists; local communities had long known the animal.
A common mistake is to treat the okapi as a hybrid or a striped forest zebra. It is neither: it is a distinct giraffid and the sole living member of its genus, Okapia. The family once included many extinct giraffid forms across Eurasia and Africa.